The Interactions with students and youth
from all parts of the country and the series
of lectures given to the engineering students
of Anna University, and students of other
universities, colleges and schools, resulted
in evolving this book. Hence
the book is dedicated to the youth and the
student community of India.
Preface
During the last four years, I have
visited almost all parts of India and interacted with people from all
walks of life- students, youths, farmers, scientists, engineers,
technicians, doctors, medical staff, educationists, industrialists,
armed forces personnel, spiritual leaders, political leaders,
administrators, economists, artists, sports persons, physically and
mentally challenged and the rural populace. What have I learnt from
these interactions across the different cross-sections of Indian
population?
School children and youth also interacted with me
through my website. They gave many suggestions on making India a
developed nation and their role in achieving this mission. I would like
to highlight a few of the suggestions, among the many, which I received
from children and youth.
One student from Meghalaya responded, "I enjoy teaching
as it can shape children to be good citizens of our country. So I want
to become a teacher or a soldier to defend my country". Another girl
from Pondicherry said, "A garland can be made only with many flowers
with a common thread. Therefore, I will make my countrymen love the
nation and work for the unity of minds to realise the garland -
Developed India". Another boy from Goa said, "I would become an
electron and just like an electron in the orbit, I will work
ceaselessly for my country". A boy of Indian origin based at Atlanta,
responded, "When India becomes self-reliant and has the capability to
put sanctions against any country, if needed, then I will sing the song
of India, and I will work for it". The young boy meant that India
should become a developed country with economic prosperity, accompanied
with national security and political will.
What noble thoughts from the young minds! These are
only examples. The aspiration of young ignited minds to make the nation
great is evident. It is important to recognise that India has a
population of 700 million such young minds. This is a large force,
which needs to be harnessed constructively towards a singular mission
of making India a developed country. Like the young, every citizen of
India I interacted with, would like to live in a happy, prosperous,
peaceful and safe India.
I have seen the beauty of our country in the deserts,
mountains, seashores, forests and in the fields. India has a rich,
civilisations, heritage, resource, talented workforce and above all
there is potential due to the emergence of a knowledge society. Still
26% of our population is below the poverty line, illiteracy and large
scale unemployment persist. While it is imperative to address these
problems, it is also necessary to increase the economic growth. This
can be achieved by an effective management of resources and manpower -
our core competencies.
We must get rid of the inferiority Complex and defeat
the defeatist spirit that plagues us. We must celebrate our success and
encourage the talented to work for missions which will bring glory to
India
Our Prime Minister during his address on the eve of
Independence Day 2002, declared that India will become a Developed
Nation by 2020. The tenth five-year plan also focuses on an economic
growth of 8% and an employment potential of one hundred million.
In recent years, technology has come to play a dominant
role in improving the quality of life. Technology is the engine
capable of driving a nation towards growth and prosperity, and giving
it the necessary competitive edge in the comity of nations. Technology,
thus, has an important role to play transforming India into a
developed country.
In my earlier book, "India 2020-A vision for the new
millennium", written in 1998 with Shri Y S Rajan, we discussed the
Technology Vision 2020 by TIFAC, which was evolved with the help of 500
experts. In the last few years, there have been significant
developments and technological revolutions Now a consensus has emerged
in all the sections of the society, particularly among the youth and
children, to live in Developed India and take appropriate actions. Even
the Indian families living abroad have expressed their desire
participate in missions to transform India into a developed nation. In
view of the above, a need has been felt to write this book. This book
goes into the specific details pertaining to the impact of technology
on society, and the missions leading to a Developed India by 2020.
When we were developing rockets, launch vehicles,
missile systems and related technologies in India, the developed world
denied technology, for many reasons, to us. This resulted in
challenging the young minds into action. Technology denied is
technology gained.
Today, India has core competence in system design,
system engineering, system integration and system management of launch
vehicles, missiles and aircraft, and capabilities for developing
critical technologies. This book brings out these aspects in an
integrated manner through two important case studies on the design of a
launch vehicle and a guided missile. Our aim is to convey that just
like science, we have to make technology a universal system, decoupling
geo-political policies. These case studies pertain to our experiences
of working at ISRO and DRDO, and with great technology visionaries- Dr.
Vikram Sarabhai and Prof. Satish Dhawan.
During the lectures and talks that have been given to
school and college students participation of the youth has been
tremendous and thought-provoking. It is these interactions with the
youth of India that inspired us to share our experiences and vision in
making India a developed nation.
India has many successful experience of managing
mission mode programmes. We recognise the importance of technology and
the role that it can play while formulating policies and implementing
programmes in mission mode. The requirement today is the creation of a
suitable environment in tune with the times, and India’s transformation
into a knowledge society. For harnessing the potential of the youth
and the resources, creative leadership is essential.
Networking of thoughts and deeds of one billion people
towards a common goal of making India a developed nation is indeed the
need of the hour.
A P J ABDUL KALAM & A SIVATHANU PILLAI
Contents
Prologue (vii)
Acknowledgements (xi)
Abbreviations (xv)
Introduction (xxi)
1. Technology: The Prime Mover for a Developed Nation (1)
2. The Dimensions of Technology (29)
3. Value Addition in Agriculture (49)
4. Manufacturing in the Knowledge Era (63)
5. Healthcare Revolution (85)
6. Advances in the Strategic Sector (115)
7. Integrated Knowledge Economy (147)
8. Vision to Mission (167)
Epilogue (195)
Conclusion (203)
CASE STUDY I
Design of Satellite Launch Vehicles
Recollection of SLV-3 Experience (209)
CASE STUDY II
Integrated Design Approach for Advanced Aerospace Vehicles
A Guided Missile Experience (227)
References (245)
Index (251)
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