“Oh Lord, take us from Untruth to Truth,
From Darkness to Light From Death to Immortality… Oh Eternal, Peace be on all”…
From Darkness to Light From Death to Immortality… Oh Eternal, Peace be on all”…
This immortal prayer, wishing for a blissful world, emanated from the
elevated minds of India’s great Gurus, thousands of years ago, when the rest of
the world was yet to hear something called civilization or an organized
society.
However, subsequent invasions by marauding armies and centuries of
foreign oppression that culminated in a bloody partition of the Nation saw the
country being trapped in all sorts of tribulations, while others marched ahead.
But today, INDIA- the land of a thousand
languages, a billion dreams and a zillion hopes, is aiming it BIG. And why not?
After all, we are the world’s largest
democracy, an emerging global economic power and above all, the confluence of a
modern nation and an ancient civilization.
Our former
President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam is no more with us in his mortal form. But the
spirit, zeal, enthusiasm, steadfastness and genuineness he has induced in each
one of us has ignited the minds of millions of Indian citizens with his vision
of making India a developed nation by the Year 2020 AD. Dr. Kalam once
remarked, “I will keep the lamp of knowledge burning to achieve the vision -
Developed India. If we work and sweat for the great vision with ignited minds,
the transformation leading to birth of vibrant developed India will happen”.
And only such
ignited minds can make ours a welfare state that ensures freedom, basic
amenities and equal opportunities to all sections of the society. The dynamics of development outlined by this great seer
and nationalist envisages how right developmental patterns will enable
successful connectivity between India and the world. These deductions made by
the ‘Missile Man of India’ were not mere fanciful calculation, but the result
of careful analysis and observances.
Dr. Kalam was
of the opinion that developed countries must ensure marketing of their products
in a competitive way, in order to maintain the status. A developing country on the other hand must
market products bearing in mind quality of the products, cost-effectiveness and
precision of time in terms of supply, in order to forge its way towards success.
By observing these
dynamics, India can well be transformed to a developed state by 2020, using
technology as tool. And with an obviously swelling economy, study and competent
internal market, India is obviously destined to make competitive products using
technological innovations.
Some of the
core areas specified by Dr. Kalam are development of software, pharma products,
emergence of steel technology, space technology and defense systems forging
into the international arena all the way from India. Along with this, in the
former President’s own words, “The initiatives taken in solar farming to
generate energy, desalination plants to generate drinking water will soon be
mission mode programmes offering a large business in India and outside.”
Today, the ascension of
Shri Narendra Modi as India’s Prime Minister has given priority to state-funded
research in areas like biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and automobile
manufacturing with the participation of private sector. He has waved the green
flag in exploring the feasibility of setting up research institutes in these
fields with the aid of private firms. This is a comprehensive step towards the
setting up of institutions that capacitate research, with innovation being a
global wave.
India’s
vision of turning the nation into a research powerhouse is on par with the
realization of Dr APJ’s vision for the nation. This vision for an empowered India includes a well-forged
combination of natural resources and talented manpower for integrated action to
double the growth rate of GDP. And this exactly is the panacea that is required
for the realization of the dream known as ‘Developed India’.
Sectors of agriculture
and food processing, having a solid target of doubling the present production
of food and agricultural products, infrastructure with quality electric power
including solar farming throughout the country, along with provision of urban
amenities in rural areas and interlinking of rivers; focus on education and
healthcare that will provide social security, that will go a long way in eradication
of illiteracy; providing health facilities for all; bringing information and
communication technology within the reach of every citizen etc are areas that
have been highlights of India’s new agenda.
A lot of
emphasis is being laid on critical technologies and strategic industries, which
will witness the growth in nuclear technology, space technology and defense
technology. Being one of our core competencies it will be a wealth generator as
well. The government is also tapping the role of technology in tele-education,
tele-medicine and e-governance to promote education in remote areas and
healthcare.
Enhancing
tourism and ensuring growth of small scale sectors, part of Dr. Kalam’s vision
for a developed India will be yet another area of focus for the new government.
The new Prime Minister, well aware of India's unique positioning as a
multi-dimensional country with many tourist attractions has listed a set of
proposals that will forge constructive partnership between private and public
sectors, that will ensure the growth of tourism industry. Some of the steps
towards this direction are the establishment of innovative products and
world-class infrastructure, with a revamping of the country’s inland water
navigation, hotels, and entertainment and communication sectors to woo tourists.
Small-scale
industries which currently contribute to the gross industrial value are the
prime area for creating largest employment opportunities for Indian populace.
The current millennium has seen a leap of small-scale units from 0.87 million
units in the year 1980-81 to over 3 million in the year 2000. This is expected
to grow, with greater prospects in India's export performance.
Small-scale
industrial units that contribute to a small percentage of indirect exports
which takes place through merchant exporters, trading houses and export houses
will now be part of a strategy that enhances export of goods and services from
SSI sector, which will be based on technology upgrade, value addition
techniques, credit support and export marketing zones etc. This will include export
in areas of sports goods, readymade garments, woolen garments and knitwear,
plastic products, processed food and leather products etc.
Providing
urban amenities in rural areas is
crucial in bringing about overall development in the country. Villages can
prosper if provided infrastructure, industrial support and employment
opportunities. India has envisaged a 4 point connectivity programme that will
ensure sustained development in village clusters. Government also aims at
successful collaborative efforts and active participation of industries, particularly
small scale industries in ensuring provision of urban amenities in rural areas.
The Indian Prime Minister‘s
speech to the Australian Parliament in 2015 outlines his vision for a developed
India: “Since the turn of this century, India has been the second fastest
growing economy in the world. Millions have lifted themselves out of poverty
into a new life of possibilities”. It was none other than Dr. APJ’s dream on
India.
Today, we have a stable
union government in India. From the remotest village to the biggest cities,
there is a new high tide of hope in India; a new energy and hope that was laid
by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
It is the energy of
our youth – the 800 million people below the age of 35 – eager for change,
willing to work for it – because, now they believe that it is possible. That
they can make it happen. It is this force of transformation that we will
unleash.
India has the
potential in developing quality products in a timely and cost effective manner,
in order to become globally competitive and plunge into entrenched market. The
wealth of man power that the country has will be more than what is required to
ensure the realization of a dream the great visionary scientist turned President had carved out for his motherland.
Renjith Gopalkrishnan
(Freelance Journalist & Editorial Board member
of Science India Forum, Bahrain publication)
Bahrain
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