DELHI. India's successful test firing of its first intercontinental ballistic missile - the Agni V - has been met with delirium inside the country, but consternation over its borders.

Indian TV yesterday showed scenes of hundreds of cheering scientists at Wheeler's Island, from where the missile was launched in the Bay of Bengal, after its successful flight. At 8.06am Indian time, the 20-metre, 50-tonne rocket, which has the capability to carry a one-tonne nuclear warhead up to 5000 kilometres, was launched, taking 20 minutes to reach its target somewhere in the Indian Ocean near Indonesia.

The Agni V missile, named for the Hindu god of fire, has the capability to reach Beijing.