Preface
Both of us were born when India was
still struggling for her independence. One was in the final year of
school when Jawahar Lal Nehru made his famous speech about India waking
up to make her tryst with destiny; the other was a child speaking a
first few words. Our families were not known for riches or power.
Destiny in the form of the progressive measures taken by independent
India to harness science and technology in order to develop a modern
nation brought us together.
It was the vision of the great Vikram Sarabhai,
supported by Nehru and Homi Bhabha, which gave us the opportunity to
work on the space programme. The programme was aimed at carrying
developmental messages into homes all over the country, especially in
the 6 lakh villages, by leap-frogging many traditional routes. The
programme also aimed at surveying the natural resources of the country
so that they could be harnessed to benefit our people. Many in India
must have considered these objectives an unattainable dream in the
early '60s when the space programme was born. We, however, along with
many of our colleagues, saw these aims as a vision real and attainable.
What followed was a shared mission. Every person in ISRO believed that
they were born to realize all that space technology can bring to the
country and its people.
For us, then, there was no going back. There were days
and nights of work. Many failures and a few hard-won successes. The
systems which were designed, developed, fabricated and tested were
directed towards a common goal-a strong India, a developed and proud
India with the benefits available all over the country. It is
gratifying to note the vision, in relation to space technology, has
come true now especially in terms of reaching out to the people;
providing communication through networks in remote areas; disaster
warning systems; quick resource surveys to target ground water, save
our forest cover and so on. And, of course, in areas of certain
strategic strengths, vital to India in a world which respects only
strength.
We are also proud and happy that the dreams of many
Indians in the agricultural, scientific, artistic, cultural and social
fields have also come true. However, the vision of a prosperous India
without poverty, an India strong in trade and commerce, an India strong
in many fields of science and technology, an India with innovative
industry and with health and education for all, has remained just
partially realized. In some areas, in fact, pessimism has taken deep
roots.
We have completed the fiftieth year of our
independence, with a large majority born after independence. Every year
about twenty million Indians are being added to the nation. What vision
can they have? Should we, like some, question the very concept of
development and leave our people to the same condition of stagnation
which existed for centuries? Or think only of the upper strata of
society and leave the rest to their fate, employing such nice sounding
phrases as 'market driven strategies' and 'competitiveness'? Or leave
the initiative to various globalizing forces? Where should we see India
(and its people) going in the next two decades? In the next five
decades? And more?
The authors were fortunate to have been associated with
a large number of persons who were interested in posing these
questions and finding some answers. These came substantially through a
novel organization, the Technology Information, Forecasting and
Assessment Council (TIFAC), which launched a major exercise called
Technology Vision for India up to 2020.
About 500 experts with unique experience in industry,
academia, laboratories and government administration were deeply
involved in the exercise. Experts and socially aware persons also
participated. About 5000 people contributed indirectly through
responses to questionnaires and other inputs.
Subsequently, while the teams deliberated on various
issues and the draft reports, and later when the report was released by
the Prime Minister on 2 August 1996, we had numerous opportunities to
interact with many others about a vision for India. We had the benefit
of various inputs ranging from encouraging suggestions for specific
actions to pessimistic comments about the inability of systems to act
on anything focused and long term. We travelled widely to interact with
different sections of people in variegated parts of the country. We
also reflected on the imperatives for India in a changing world.
We are aware of our systems of governance and social
and political compulsions. We are fortunate to have gained experience
in implementing projects involving people of various strata as
beneficiaries, as well as projects entailing strong commercial
pressures and those that are high profile, such as a satellite or a
launch vehicle or missile project. The execution of these schemes
provided varied experiences, which worked as base line knowledge for
the shaping of this book.
Having taken these factors into account and after
studying several vision reports of India and other countries, we still
believe firmly that India can reach a developed country status by 2020.
The Indian people can rise well above the present poverty and
contribute more productively to their country because of their own
improved health, education and selfesteem. India can have considerable
technological strengths, so crucial for its strategic strengths and
for economic and trade related strengths.
In this book we have attempted to share some of these
thoughts. We have also disclosed elements of a few action plans, which
can be missions for many young people in the country. We hope that
these will help to stimulate young Indians and ignite their minds in
the same way that we were ignited by the space programme three decades
ago. Our vision ahead for the country and the missions we see before us
make us feel young even now.
A developed India, by 2020 or even earlier is not a
dream. It need not even be a mere aspiration in the minds of many
Indians. It is a mission we can all take up-and accomplish.
Ignited young minds, we feel, are a powerful resource.
This resource is mightier than any resource on the earth, in the sky
and under the sea. We must all work together to transform our
'developing India' into a 'developed India', and the revolution
required for this effort must start in our minds. This book, India
2020, will hopefully be the source for igniting many minds.
Contents
Acknowledgements (xi)
Preface (xiii)
1. Can India Become a Developed Country? (1)
2. What Other Countries Envision for Themselves (26)
3. Evolution of Technology Vision 2020 (46)
4. Food, Agriculture and Processing (59)
5. Materials and the Future (87)
6. Chemical Industries and Our Biological Wealth (118)
7. Manufacturing for the Future (139)
8. Services As People's Wealth (156)
9. Strategic Industries (187)
10. Health Care for All (217)
11. The Enabling Infrastructure (241)
12. Realizing the Vision (268)
Afterword (305)
Appendix (306)
References and Further Reading (308)
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