The medium-range Agni-II (Fire), with a maximum range of 2,500 kilometres (1,560 miles), was fired from a mobile launcher on Wheeler Island off eastern Orissa state, officials said.

Agni-II has been flight-tested three times since 1999, the previous occasion being in January 2001.

"The launch of Agni II from its rail mobile launcher met all the mission objectives, including achieving the high accuracy in guiding the payload to the designated target at a 12,00-kilometre range," project chief R.N. Agarwal said in New Delhi.

He said a network of tracking stations monitored the missile's flight until its payload hit the target.

"The white-hot object was tracked by pre-positioned naval ships confirming the impact and success of the mission," Agarwal added.

Indian defence ministry sources, meanwhile, said Sunday's flight-test comes just after the military armed itself with Agni-I missiles, which have a range of 700 kilometres.

India's previous battle-ready batteries comprise of the Prithvi (earth) surface missiles which can carry a half-tonne nuclear warhead to a maximum distance of 250 kilometres.

India's nuclear rival Pakistan, meanwhile, cautioned New Delhi's military establishment against missile tests.

"Pakistan does not favour an open-ended arms race in South Asia. We believe that a strategic restraint is in the interest of both nations," Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan said in a statement in Islamabad.

"We would hold further talks on this subject in the near future," Khan said.

The latest missile test also comes a week ahead of peace talks in New Delhi between the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan aimed at ending decades of hostility over disputed Kashmir.

In June 19-20 official-level talks in the Indian capital, both sides agreed to set up a hotline to prevent nuclear confrontation, to continue a ban on nuclear tests and to conclude an agreement on informing each other in advance about impending missile tests.

The missile tested Sunday powered by solid fuel is capable of carrying 1,000-kilogramme (2,200-pound) nuclear or conventional warheads, the official said.

Developed by India's Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), the 20-metre (65-foot) missile weighs 16 tonnes. It can be fired from rail- and road-based launchers.

India's Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and senior officials of his ministry and scientists were present at the launch, officials here said.

The Agni is one of five missiles developed by the DRDO under its Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme launched in 1983.

The other four missiles are the Prithvi, the surface-to-air Trishul (Trident), multi-purpose Akash (Sky), and the anti-tank Nag (Cobra).

India and Pakistan held nuclear tests two weeks apart in 1998 and have since come close to war twice in their dispute over Kashmir.

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