Sustain 10% growth for a better India: Kalam

Sustain 10% growth for a better India: Kalam
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
PANJIM, FEB 6
Pointing out that the “ignited mind of the youth is the most powerful source under the sun”, eminent scientist and former President of India Dr A P J Abdul Kalam said that India can be a developed country by 2020 if it can sustain a 10 per cent growth rate for 10 years.
In his lecture for the D D Kosambi Festival of Ideas at the Kala Academy, Panjim, on Sunday, Dr Kalam outlined his ‘Vision 2020’ for a developed India and said that for this, the rural-urban divide must be reduced to a “thin line”, there must be equal access for all to energy and water, agriculture must be revitalised by aggressive agro-processing, no one must be denied education, there must be transparent governance, India must be “corruption-free”, poverty and illiteracy, as well as crimes against women and children should be eradicated, and the country should be proud of its leadership.
Surging crowds for the talk saw both the Dinanath Mangeshkar Hall – whose doors had to be shut after all the seats were occupied; several VIPs had to listen to the lecture standing – and the open air auditorium, which had large video screens, and accommodated double the capacity of the former – fill beyond capacity.
Starting out his talk by outlining the sterling qualities of the late D D Kosambi, the former President said that in the process of reading about Kosambi, he had decided that the topic of his talk – originally ‘Imagination leads to Creativity’ – should be changed to ‘Evolution of a Better World’. Citing little known facets of Kosambi’s work, such as the ‘Kosambi formula for chromosome matching’, Kalam said that the great thinker’s dream was the evolution of a better world.
In this context, he cited another of his initiatives, ‘World Vision 2030, which envisages a green and clean environment, prosperity sans poverty in all nations, timely conflict resolution mechanisms to ensure there is peace with no fear of war, and development through regional cooperation.
Kalam said only the human mind can challenge the impossible, and that a knowledge society thrives on innovation, which is the willingness to play with ideas and possibilities, and continuously improve ideas. Innovators, he said, see the same thing as everybody else, but think about it differently. Pointing out that Kosambi was one of the first to advocate that India should harness solar energy, he said that he had initiated the Kalam NSS Energy Initiative to harvest solar energy from space and relay it to Earth.
Saying that disparity was the biggest challenge facing India, Dr Kalam said that all innovation must make “inclusivity” a central objective, for real integration. Citing his ‘PURA’ project (Providing Urban Amenities to Rural Areas), he said if India’s villages can be given physical connectivity, infrastructural connectivity and electronic connectivity, then nothing can stop India’s march to development.
He said the most rewarding and blissful moments in his life were not his scientific achievements like the launch of India’s first satellite on the SLV-3 rocket, or the Agni missile, but the harnessing of the space technologies he pioneered to create lightweight leg callipers for polio-affected children from the composites used for the Agni missile heat shield, and the development of the low-cost Raju-Kalam heart stents with cardiologist Dr Somaraju.
Kalam reserved his attention for the young people in the audience, whom he repeatedly addressed, asked if they agreed with him or not, and told to repeat some maxims after him. Saying he had met 11 million youth in the last decade, he declared, “Every youth wants to be a ‘Unique You’, but the world is working day and night to make you like everybody else. To be unique, fight the honest battle”, he continued, “and never stop till you arrive at the ‘Unique You’.”
To a question about how to end corruption, if every youth told his/her parents not to be corrupt, it was possible. “Will you dare to tell your father to stop his corruption?” Kalam asked the young in the audience and received a resounding “Yes” in reply. He also pointed out that everyone who is over 18 has an invincible weapon – the vote – which they do not use well enough. “Once you elect the wrong person, don’t complain”, he quipped. It is only the parents, the spirituality in the home and educational environment, and the primary school teachers that can put the young men and women of India on the right course, he concluded.