VISION 2020

When the India Today Conclave posed the question 'India Tomorrow: Global
Giant or Pygmy?" I recalled an event that occurred while meeting students in Nagaland
during my recent visit there. A Class V student asked me, 'I would like to live in a
happy, prosperous, peaceful and safe India. Tell me, what will you do Mr President?
Also, tell me what I should do for that?' During my interactions with school children
of 17 states and three Union territories which I have visited, a series of similar
questions was raised.

Sometimes, I feel, a nation of billion people think like a nation of million

people. Why is it so? I consider no other nation has got a civilisational heritage like
India to live a near-peaceful life. Indian minds were capable of absorbing the best of
cultures from successive invasions. Now we should not allow any religion or any
individual fanaticismn to endanger our nation. Because, the nation is more important
compared to any individual or party or religion.

Even the rich and developed nations, in spite of their wealth and military
strength, are afraid of virtual enemies and they live with the fear complex. Economic
prosperity and military strength alone do not bring peace to any nation, as we see from
the dynamics of the world. In such a situation it is also very important to transform our
religious forces into spiritual forces. Evolution of spiritual forces in addition to
economic prosperity and military trength will bring happiness, peace and prosperity.

We got freedom in 1947 as a result of what I call the first vision for the nation.
This vision created the best of leaders in many fields like politics, philosophy,
judiciary, science and technology and industry. Improvements took place in many
aspects of life, in literacy, agricultural products, strategic areas, certain small and
large-scale industries. Now more than 50 years have gone by and we are called as one
among the hundreds of developing countries and in a distinct way a separation from
G-8 countries. We have many challenges. Nearly 260 million people who are below
the poverty line have to join the mainstream of a good life. Hundred per cent literacy,
health for all, multiple industrial and agricultural productivity and a lifestyle with a
value system have to emerge. Hence, we need the second vision for the nation to
become developed.

After Independence, India looked forward to development through Five Year

Plans. The Green Revolution and technological growth enabled India to prosper with
self- sufficiency in food, and achievements in many technological frontiers,
particularly in the past two decades. A major transformation came during the
information age when India established its position with its strong core competence in
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information technology. Today India is in the knowledge age which provides an

opportunity to become a developed nation with a strong economy.

In the twenty-first century, a new society is emerging where knowledge is the

primary production resource instead of capital and labour. People's lives will be
enriched by IT-driven knowledge products and systems, biotechnology and space
technology. As a future revolution, it is predicted that humanity will see human habitat
in one of the planets and space solar power radiating to earth for electric power.
Human life will be further extended for research outcomes. Nano technology will enter
into human usage like the control systems of various transportation systems, medical-
technology equipment and aerospace systems.

In most of the developed nations, the information and communications

technology (ICT) sector directly contributes 7-8 per cent to their GDP. It is expected
that by 2010 in these countries, ICT will account for 25 per cent of the GDP either
directly (by way of sale of hardware and software) or indirectly (by being an integral
part of e-governance, connectivity for improved productivity, industries and even in
daily life for improved efficiency and transparency). In India, ICT today accounts for
nearly 2 per cent of GDP. To be a developed nation, we should enhance this
significantly.
Our core competencies that can be exploited in addition to what has been
planned in 1998 include information security, scientific software development and e-
governance that can spearhead a strong domestic market, entertainment, education,
hardware and chip design and wireless. If we exploit these areas of our core
competency, we can create Indian MNCs and aim at a target of $150 billion by 2010.

Another core competence we should develop is in biotechnology. India is rich

in herbs, germplasm and micro organisms. Industrially developed countries are
importing these bio-resources in raw forms, adding value to them and exporting them
as special seeds and biomaterials to developing countries including India. They also
own fully protected patents of these products. Instead of allowing export of such
resources and importing value-added products at high cost, India must add its own
technology for conversion of such resources to value-added products for use in
domestic requirement as well as for export of the globa product market $6.1
billion. China has a share of around $3 billion whereas India's share is not even $100
million. Hence, there is tremendous opportunity for a higher market share. India has
similar potential for promoting floriculture and aquaculture in a big way.

Our Prime Minister, in his Independence Day address from the Red Fort on
August 15, 2002, declared that India would become a developed nation by 2020. India
has entered the 10th Five Year Plan with a focus on all round development. The 10th
Plan is a very vital period as it has to lay the foundation for this journey of
transformation by initiating mission projects that will bring economic strength to the
nation. In order to realise a developed India by 2020, five key areas have been
identified for an integrated action:
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 Agriculture and food processing, with a target of 360 million tonnes of food
and agricultural products in a year. Other areas of agriculture and agro-food
processing will bring food security and prosperity to rural people and speed up
economic growth;
Education and healthcare aimed at increasing the employment potential leading
to social security and population control;
Infrastructure development, including reliable and quality electric power for all
parts of the country, which is vital for all core sectors;
Information and communications technology
this is one of our core
competencies, promoting education in remote areas and creating massive
employment and national wealth through export earning; and
Critical technologies and strategic industries the progress in nuclear, space
and defence technologies will provide sustained growth and self-reliance for
the nation.

These five areas are closely inter-related and will lead to national, food and
economic security. A strong partnership among the R&D, academia, industry, business
and the community as a whole with government departments and agencies will be
essential to accomplish the vision. Apart from the plan to network the major rivers, a
scheme called Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) can help create
rural wealth and prosperity. The model envisages a habitat designed to improve the
quality of life in rural places and makes special suggestions to remove urban
congestion too. As against a conventional city, say, rectangular in shape and
measuring approximately 10 km by 6 km, the model considers a ring-shaped town
integrating a minimum of 8 to 10 villages in the same area. This model provides easy
access to villages, saves transportation time, cuts costs substantially and is more
convenient for general public. Such a model of establishing a circular connectivity of
rural village complexes will accelerate rural development process by empowerment.

The nation's strengths predominantly reside in its natural and human resources
which we should leverage. Human resources, particularly with a large young
population, is the unique core strength of the nation. There are 700 million people
below 35 years of age in the population of a billion people. The nation needs young
leaders who can command the change for transformation of India into a developed
nation embedded with a knowledge society from now to 20 years. Quality leaders are
like magnets that will attract the best persons to build a team for the organisation and
give inspiring leadership even during failure of missions as they are not afraid of risks.
The creators of vision ignite the young mind in particular

What are the qualities of such a creative leader? He or she exercises changes in
the traditional role from commander to coach, from manager to mentor, from director
to delegator and from one who demands respect to one who facilitates self-respect.
The higher the proportion of creative leaders in a nation, the higher the potential of
success of visions like 'developed India'.
 With the vision and characteristics of a creative leader defined, what can be the
tasks of various people? The student community can remove the illiteracy of a certain
number of people in their area where their schools or houses are situated. Only a
burning candle can light another. Teachers and parents can assist them in this task. The
Govenment and R&D labs can provide technological upgradation to small-scale
industries so that production can be increased and they become competitive. The large
Scale industries have to increase their productivity and quality so that the market share
can be increased for economic growth and GDP. They can aim to become
multinational companies and global leaders. The farming community has to increase
its productivity with the help of new and available scientific methods particularly for
dry land cultivation.

The information technology and knowledge workers have a tremendous

responsibility to contribute in the areas of tele-medicine. tele-cducation and e
governance for rural areas apart from their business role. PURA has to be a business
proposition, economically viable and managed by entrepreneurs and small-scale
industrialists with government participation, as it involves education, healthcare,
power-generation, transport and management. In this vision period, the government
has to build a name for itself, by quick decision-making and transparent
administration. The media has to become a pariner and a positive crilic in national
develapment. Our musicians, poets, artisans and artists should nurture the glory of our
great civilization and sing the song of developed India. This type of motivated
environment will indeed lay a great foundation for our vision of transforming India
into a "developed nation'.

A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam
About the Lesson
Vision for 2020' was initially a document prepared by the Technology Information,
Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) of India's Department of Science and
Technology under the chairmanship of Dr. A. P. J. Kalam and a team of S00 experts.
The plan is further detailed in the book India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium,
which Dr. Kalam co-authored with Dr. Y.S.Rajan. The essay focuses on transtorming
India into a developed country by 2020. Five areas have been identified, based on
India's core competence, natural resources and talented manpower for integrated
action, to speed up the growth rate of GDP and realize the vision of developed India.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam ( 1931 2015) was the 11th President of India from
2002 to 2007. He succeeded in developing and launching Prithvi and Agni
missiles. He, thus, came to be known as the Missile Man ofIndia.

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