Vision India: Possibilities and Challenges.

A little girl named Anukriti of Sri Sathya Sai Jagriti Vidya Mandir School, Haryana
once raised a simple a question to Dr Kalam during children's visit to Rashtrapati
Bhavan on May 22, 2006.

'Why India cannot become a developed nation before the year 2020?’

As an engineering graduate, all my acquired knowledge and wisdom and all my

learning from my success and failures began to wonder over the question…
So innocent was the girl, so deep was the afterthought and so vigorous and enormous
is the appeal of an innocent 10 year old heart…..

What is the vision look like?

The Preface of any Vision statement that forecast the future of the country must lay
foundation of all our future achievements and must carefully borrow policies from all
the successful five year plans we had so far besides learning cumulatively from all our
past failures. It should infuse a huge sense of responsibility, determination and rational
awareness in the entire fulcrum of Republic of India to drive the common sentiments
and opinions in the way to attain a minimum level of satisfaction and pursuit of total
social, economical and political happiness. Vision India, or the Vision 2020 as it is
sometimes called, is not to make us the superpower. An army might would do it alone.
India’s perspective is entirely different. The meaning of vision for us is financial, social,
economic and moral prosperity for all the sections and all the masses of our nation. The
vision, however, as realized by Dr. Kalam and the planning commission have substantial
power to make the super power. The vision should have the first property that the very
first thought to achieve it should bring in a wave of true bliss in the hearts of every
citizen, irrespective of his origin and community.
Vision of a developed India, by 2020 or even earlier is not a dream.

Exploring the Possibilities in the vision

Vision Education: A nation embarks to cross its finitude of problems through
Education only. The process of education need to be transformed from ‘what he has
mugged up and settled’ to ‘what he can apply in context to problems that confronts
various sections of our society’. In India, leaving elite institutes, degrees are being sold
not earned and education being brought not acquired. My vision of an educated nation
is to generate highly skilled and efficient masses that are capable to serve whole
heartedly. Without achieving a 100 per cent enrolment at primary and secondary levels
and a greater level access to higher education, the vision is uncertain. The thrust should
be on the quality--from basic literacy to hi-tech science and technology and reach.
Implications of mass education and macro expansion of quality education policies are
obvious and revolutionizing. An educated farmer knows how to get most out of his land
raising agricultural productivity and industrial quality. Education will positively
stimulate growth of India’s evolving IT, Pharmacy and biotechnology sectors, growth of
manufactured and service exports, improving health and nutrition, domestic stability
and quality of governance and thereby ensuring a bright future for every generation.

Visions of rural prosperity. What can be Done?: Education, exposure to modern

city trends of business and management and strategies of buying and selling village
products, at small scale industries level, need to be imparted to farmers and workers of
SMEs alike. Furthermore, setting up of a small economic unit in every village or
covering two or three villages that should monitor and check the production selling and
earning of the village income in the minutest way can be a solution. Flaws if any, poor
condition of the villagers or financial burden of landlords would be brought to notice
there. Public would be made abreast with how this system work and how to extract
maximum benefit out of it.
Moreover, what hampers the development and production in the agriculture sector that
drives the blood line of our economy, is the fact that a monsoon-contingent country like
ours is prone to witness irregularities, from meager to exhaustive, in annual rainfall
distributions chart. Adding natural calamities also consider no favorites whatsoever.
On the other hand, a proper and scientific espousal in rain water storage and regulation
could prove to be a national-bliss and is capable of bestowing majestic solutions to
perennial problems of droughts, floods, scarcity of potable water and elimination of
water-borne disease that millions of green-dollars were incapable of.
Imagine a village where a farmer isn't worried of its future, as enough production due to
timely and scientific irrigation has been done, contrary to today's farmers and agro-
based families where most poverty-stricken lives end up in suicidal headlines of
newspapers.
Rust free, strong and huge water reservoirs, capable of storing millions of gallons could
dawn the desired era. They may further be kept at potentially higher altitudes (eg near
hilly areas if it's in proximity) to dual serve as 'Artificial Dams' for temporary electricity
generation also and to distribute water to distant areas involving simple pipeline
constructions only. En-passant, rapid afforestation, not only in far off lands, but amid
city chaos, along roads and highways etc will help us to achieve the dream-task by
augmenting obligatory pace to the entire work.

Vision of a good governance: My vision is of a government that consecrates great

and virgin examples of Good governance that is ethically based on the principles of
transparency, responsibility, accountability, participation and responsiveness to the
needs of the people and yearn to educate the nation, develop substantial infrastructure,
increase primary sectorial productivity and ensure the fruits of economic growth are
well established. Besides, it understands fully that Indian secularism draws its
inspiration from the concept of ‘Sarva Dharma Samadar’ equal respect for all religions.
The government is ready to perform a deep rooted surgery of my nation in
strengthening the infrastructure base, enhancing agricultural productivity and ensures
sustainable principles are followed and integrated in the plans of economic
developments. After 50 years, the time is ripe for a second look at our Constitution and
to discover the possibilities of establishing some systemic changes.
Vision Science and Technology: Jawaharlal Nehru was the first who envisioned a
technologically sound and capable India. We have left somewhere in the between
though. My vision of a prosperous S&T assumes parallel with The CSIR’s mission of
providing scientific and industrial R&D that maximizes the economic, environmental
and societal benefits for the people of India. Dr. Kalam rightly points that besides space,
nuclear and defense technologies, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is
one of our core competencies and wealth generator. ICT can be used for tele-education,
tele-medicine and e-governance to promote education in remote areas, healthcare and
also transparency in the administration.

Vision environment and ecosystem: A greener peace: Projecting an economy

that develops without harming its environment and is cautious of the same is inherently
a concept of sustainable development. The vision incorporates some Ethics that are to
be followed…

Our environmental responsibility is to ensure that the Earth remains hospitable
and pleasant for human beings (Development ethic).

All forms of life-humans, animals and plants-have an inherent right to exist and
live without hindrance (preservation ethic).

The environment deserves care and consideration in itself and not because it
serves the interest of humans, animals and plants (Conservation ethics).
A nation should first understand the role of eco-centric and eco-friendly economic view
to achieve the goals of sustainability. Nation and their population should also be ready
to sacrifice some of their pleasures and greed for the conservation of their environment.

Visions in terms of global perspectives: How will India take her place at the world
table and how will the world accommodate the emergence of India as a global player is
the question that haunts me most. We need to be stand up and speaking, demonstrating
our potential of achieving glory feats that no nation has ever dreamed of.

Vision Tourism: The strategic location of our country with minerals and deposit rich
coastlines on three sides and father of the great Indian rivers Himalayas on the forth,
rich art and cultural heritage, unexplored hidden natural resources and enormous
manpower can make us extremely strong and prosperous nation in the world.
From the abode of snow in the north and the beauty of Kashmir to the holy Ganges of
Varanasi, From the unexplored western Thar of Rajasthan, to the majestic regime of the
south where God’s own place Kerala welcomes you with closed coconuts and open arms,
India beams and incredible beauties across the nation. There’s enormous tourist tapping
potential that finds a crucial place in my Vision 2020.

Vision Peace: I dream of an India where lack of weaponry and execution of plans and
discipline never cause our cops being chased away by criminals. A nation that never
produces another Veerappan and where no community ever witnesses a brutal murder
of an old couple. Apart from domestic security, the vision also includes security of those
living outside India. A place where social security is held at utmost importance.
Challenges en-route the Vision

To realize any substantial part of the vision statement that we have created, we need to
lay emphasis and draw out sensible and affective plans to address issues of national
importance like 'rural upliftment and curbing illiteracy, population counter measures,
HIV and AIDS, economic and inflation considerations, status of education and
environmental degradation, illiteracy, ignorance, mortality rate, unavailability of
potable drinking water, Corruption, Droughts and floods among others with a sense of
urgency and purpose. Besides, other pressures and by-products of a developing
economy like Urbanization, Deforestation and desertification, Emissions, Toxic
chemicals, Climate change and Global warming, Pollution (Air, Water, Soil), Energy
Resources,, Energy consumption, Stress on water resources, Biodiversity threat, Coastal
and Marine areas, Disasters, Health and a deteriorating situation of rural women and
children are some of the other challenges we have to face in the journey. Of course,
there’s no denying the fact that these are serious challenges in our course. Infact, from
overlooked issues like electronic wastes to the bigger hypes of corruption or resource
management, our endeavor, our resources-- financial, material or human--in an up-
and-coming economy (like India's), are prone to fall short intermittently. Moreover,
besides administrative and economic issues like above, we are also in the clutches of
communal violence, terrorism and tensions at international borders. Scores of daily
hardcore facts about these issues strikes any optimistic possibilities of the vision at its
root. I accept this and all the facts but what I don’t except is the thought that we can not
give a real cherish able shape to my vision.

I wonder why people who quote such facts don’t realize the glorious aspects too…

Contrary to all the challenges above, we are still among top 5 nations of the world in
terms of GDP. We have 10 percent growth rate in most areas. Our poverty and illiteracy
levels are falling. The world acknowledges us not only as an incredible mix over 100s of
languages and vividly diversified cultures, a land that’s known to capture every heart,
once came in contact. India never halts to give short forecasts to the world of my
unmatched progress. Whether it is the moon mission or our nuclear might, the world is
emphatically identifying us as their core competitors.
Why they forget that we are the world’s largest democracy and is a technological super
power, That we consists of over 80 of the World’s 117 SEI CMM Level-5 companies, That
we are the world's largest diamond cutting and polishing centers, That our INSAT is
among the world's largest domestic satellite communication systems, That we are
among the 3 countries in the World that have built Supercomputers on their own, That
my domestic BPO sector is projected to increase to $4 billion in 2004 and reach $65
billion by 2010, That my pharmaceutical industry at $6.5 billion and growing at 8-10%
annually, is the 4th largest pharmaceutical industry in the world, and is expected to be
worth $12 billion by 2008. Among thousands others….We are the Asian Tiger who is
rapidly unlocking its talent claws.
Yet we lack the self-confidence to see ourselves as a developed nation, self-reliant and
self-assured. We may know all the problems, but not all the solutions. We are trapped by
the definitions of our own problems. The outlook that we held for so many years, needs
a drastic change now if we are to fully realize the accomplishments of our vision. We
need to stand up to the world.
Some of our practices and policies, traditions and outlook must change and are
changing. We need to understand that our greatest endowment, in essence, is our
knowledge. A vision in fact is not a plan but a process. What all we need is to believe in
the vision. This is the first step we can take to realize it.

To triumph, ultimately we need to discipline certain tough decisions. Dr. Kalam was
once told by Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, way back in 70s when our first space mission failed,
that “difficulties will come only in the way of the brave. One must find a way to root
them out.”I believe in the Sarabhai’s Vision.

My Vision of a prosperous India:

I imagine a land full of opportunities for everyone. A land where everyone is committed
to education and learning, where no farmer commits suicide and no molestation case
occurs, where the middle class is as happy and satisfied as its upper counterparts, where
cities are free of congestion, road mishaps, loots and murders, and where no truckers
strike would ever happen again, where every citizen is aware of its responsibilities, from
paying taxes, following traffic rules to fundamental right of voting, from educating their
girl child to saying no to dowry and every one is eager to set moral examples and good
conduct, where individual thirst to develop his or her knowledge and potential through
the process of learning and is able to participate fully in the wider society. My vision of
India forsee unlimited possibilities, to transform us from an underestimated society
into a society which is conscious of its rights and vigilant about performing its duties.
A society that’s prosperous and empty of any evils, a society that’s educated and
empowered. An India which is free of social conflict, curse of illiteracy and malnutrition.
Rabindranath Tagore envisioned free India as one “Where knowledge is free” and
“Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever widening thought and action”.

I envision India where both knowledge and an individual are free, in the
noblest and truest of sense…..

There’s no other way to glorify the vision other than to work our part, earnestly and
preservingly. There is a verse from Gitanjali "I must launch out my boat. The languid
hours pass by on the Shore". No sooner this verse gets deeply enrooted in our sensibility
and attitude, from a street sweeper to the office of the president, then the vision is not
too far to be possible.

Welcome to a transformed India !