Here's a link to the video: http://specials.rediff.com/news/2007/sep/19kalam1.htm
Here's the speech:
-----------------------------------------------------------
Address and Interaction with the IISc, IIT & TIE San Francisco, USA
18/sep/2007 : San Francisco
What can I give?
In giving,
We receive happiness.
I am delighted to address and interact with the Members of Indian Institute of Science Alumni, Pan IIT and Tie and the family members. My greetings to all of you.
Brain Drain
During the last five years plus, in India and abroad, I have met over two million youth below 17 years in groups ranging from thousand, 50 thousand and some times even a lakh. In many of these meets, one question I have been invariably asked which is relevant to this great audience. They ask me - there are large number of professionally qualified people Doctors, Engineers and Scientists migrate to foreign countries particularly USA for further studies, research or employment. Is it not such a brain drain a big problem for the country?
I firmly tell that it is not. I used to say: Compared to the Indian population of one billion people about 22 million are spread throughout the world and are contributing to the nation where they have settled and are maintaining their connectivity with their parents and the educational institutions thereby enriching both the countries. Many of them have settled down as entrepreneurs, doctors, engineers or political leaders.
I recollect now the famous saying of Avayyar, the great poetess of Tamil Nadu.
Mission of life should be to earn knowledge and wealth even if it needs crossing the oceans. That is our great culture. I am delighted to see all of you performing well in your profession crossing multiple oceans. I also used to say Columbus discovered America. America is born out of migration of many millions from many countries. If people have not moved from one country to another, America would not have been born. For example: let us take the Silicon Valley, which has great scientific institutions, research institution and enterprises. If we see the constituents of Silicon Valley, we will find they are Indians, Chinese and Americans. I am convinced that movement enriches the society. It is of course a debating point. You may all like to give your views for shaping our thoughts. . Keeping this in mind, I have selected "What can I give" as the topic for initiating discussion today.
Unity of Minds
I was studying the classic "Dialogues of Plato", where Plato brings out "our aim in founding the State was not the disproportionate happiness of any one class, but the greatest happiness of the whole" in 2400 years ago. Similarly, during the same period Tamil poet Saint Thiruvalluvar said,
That is, "the important elements that constitute a nation are: being disease free; wealth; high productivity; harmonious living and strong defence". We have to find how we can provide all these elements to all the citizens of the nation on an equitable basis for happiness for all. This may result in an extremism free world, a peaceful world. I would like to first discuss with you my personal experience in exploring what brings happiness to the human beings.
During the year 2003, I visited one of the Indian states, Arunachal Pradesh, I visited a Buddhist monastry at Tawang 3500 m. altitude. I stayed and spent some time nearly for a day. I observed a unique situation in all the villages nearby where young and experienced were all radiating happiness in spite of severe winter environment. Then, I visited the 400 years old Tawang monastery itself and there also I saw monks of all age groups in a state of serenity. I was asking myself what is the unique feature of Tawang and surrounding villages which makes people and monks to be at peace with themselves. When the time came, I asked the Chief Monk, how in Tawang villages and monastry, I am experiencing peace and happiness being radiated by everyone. There was a pause, the chief monk smiled. He said, "You are the President of India. You will be knowing all about us and the whole nation". Again I said, "It is very important for me, you please give me your thoughtful analysis".
There was a beautiful golden image of Lord Buddha radiating smile and peace. The Chief Monk assembled nearby all his nearly 100 young and experienced monks. The Chief Monk and myself were sitting amidst them. The Chief Monk gave a short discourse, which I would like to share with you. Chief Monk said, "In the present world, we have a problem of distrust, unhappiness transforming into violence. This monastery spreads: when you Remove "I" and "Me" from your mind, you will eliminate ego; if you get rid of ego, hatred towards fellow human beings will vanish; if the hatred goes out of our mind, the violence in thinking and action will disappear; if violence in our mind is taken away, peace springs in human minds. Then peace and peace and peace alone will blossom in the society". I realized the meaning of beautiful equation for peaceful life, but difficult mission for the individual is how to remove the ethos of "I" and "ME". For this, we need the education inculcated in the young age as propagated by Greek and Indian philosophers.
In my search for evolving a peaceful and prosperous society, I got part answer. My search for real truth continues. I saw an ancient Christian monastery in Bulgaria, where I had a discussion with highly experienced monks on the message of Tawang. The Monk added that forgiveness is also the foundation of good life. Similarly in the birth place of Swami Vivekananda, I explained the Tawang experience to the disciples and they too felt the Tawang experience indeed is beautiful and they added "Trait of Giving" will add to peace and happiness. Then I visited Ajmeer Sharif where I participated in the Friday Namaz. Here, the Sufi expert told me that Almighty's creation, the man, has been challenged with another powerful creation of Shaitan. Only good deeds lead to good thinking, good thinking results into actions radiating love as commanded by Almighty. While talking about good deeds, I am reminded of the advice given to Gandhiji by his mother. She says,
"Son, in your entire life time, if you can save or better someone's life, your birth as a human being and your life is a success. You have the blessing of the Almighty God".
This advice has made a deep impact in the mind of Gandhiji, which made him to work for the humanity throughout his life. During the 100th birthday of His Holiness Sree Sree Shivakumara Swamiji of Sree Siddaganga Math, Tumkur, Karnataka, a southern state of India - a message of "Giving" came to my mind celebrating his contribution, which I would like to share with you
"Radiating message on Giving"
"O my fellow citizens,
In giving, you receive happiness,
In Body and Soul.
You have everything to give.
If you have knowledge, share it.
If you have resources, share it with the needy.
Use your mind and heart,
To remove the pain of the suffering,
And, cheer the sad hearts.
In giving, you receive happiness.
Almighty will bless all your actions.”
What message do we get from all these experiences? All these experiences give an insight that human beings can attain lasting peace and happiness only when they rise above their selves and work towards serving others without external temptation. Is it utopian goal or is it practicable in day-to-day life? I have come across many incidents where people have, irrespective of their normal professional affiliations, have come forward for great societal missions by giving.
Punjab Experience in reviving the waterways
Last year, I was in Punjab, a northern state of India. There, I visited Sultanpur Lodhi and saw the marvelous development which has taken place on the river Kali Bein. I was delighted to see the rejuvenated Kali Bein, the place where the revered Sikh Guru Gurunanak Devji is said to have received enlightenment. Over the years this rivulet had turned into weed choked drain. Now, river is clean due to the efforts of Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal, a priest in a Gurudwara temple and his team. Babaji had organized people’s participation in stopping the massive flow of sewage into the Bein and cleaned 160 km long polluted and choked rivulet within the last five years by deploying on an average 3,000 kar sevak (volunteer pilgrims) per day. Today one can feel the flow of fresh water in this rivulet released from the Tarkina Barrage by the government. The revival of the rivulet has recharged the water table as the hand pumps that had become dry for the past 4 decades are now pumping out water. Also, I saw speed boats running on the river. The 3 kms stretch which I physically saw was a beautiful site to watch with nice bathing ghats, tree orchards on the bank of the river and well laid out roads parallel to the river. I also saw the great happiness of giving on the faces of the volunteers who had physically participated in this task. This is a great example of giving and happiness arising out of giving. In the context of "Giving,nations all around have the responsibility of promoting peace and prosperity. "
Righteousness in the heart
Recently on 25 April 2007, I addressed the EU Parliament on the subject of "Dynamics of Unity of Nations", in which I started with Righteousness in the heart leading to peace in the world. Let me share the divine hymn
Righteousness
"Where there is righteousness in the heart
There is beauty in the character.
When there is beauty in the character,
There is harmony in the home.
When there is harmony in the home.
There is an order in the nation.
When there is order in the nation,
There is peace in the world."
This is true, for the whole world. When we need peace in the world, we need order in the nation; we need harmony in the home, whether in Europe or in India or in any part of the world, the origin is righteousness in the heart. How do we evolve righteousness, in the hearts of every citizen of the world? For this I discussed a three dimensional approach: "Education with value system", "Religion transforming into Spiritual Force" and "Economic Development of the nation to remove the disparities in the society".
Now, I would like to talk to you about the present ambience in India and the dreams, that will pave the way for intensifying our cooperation towards national prosperity and world peace.
Ascent Phase
India is in an ascending economic trajectory, with continuously rising foreign exchange reserves, moderate rate of inflation, global recognition of our technological competence, energy of 540 million youth, umbilical connectivities of 22 million people of Indian origin in various parts of the planet. India as the largest democracy in the world has the reputation for providing leadership to one billion people with multi-cultural, multi-language and multi-religious backgrounds. Our technological competence and value systems with civilizational heritage are also highly respected. Foreign Institutional Investors are finding investing in India attractive. We are in the process of accelerating our clearance system of investment proposals. Our industrialists are also investing abroad and opening new business ventures. The Indian economy is growing with an average annual GDP growth rate of over 8 to 9%. Very soon, we will be reaching the target of 10% GDP growth rate. Now, I would like to talk to you about the possible Indian ambience in 2020.
Possible Ambience in 2020
I visualize a prosperous India well before the year 2020. We expect the people below the poverty line to come to near zero and our literacy must be nearly 100%. The Human Development Index of India will be less than 50. Every Indian will have either a good university degree or quality training with globally competitive employable vocational skill. E-governance would be in position for all Government to Government (G2G) and Government to Citizens (G2C) transactions making the governance system transparent with a National ID card in position. Tele-density will reach over 75%. All our villages will have reliable, uninterrupted quality electric power supply. 600,000 villages will have all three connectivities such as physical connectivity, electronic connectivity, knowledge connectivity leading to economic connectivity through the programme of PURA (Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas). The interlinking of rivers and water bodies and use of technology for water collection, water recycling and water management will result in equitable distribution of water for drinking, irrigation, industry, navigation and as natural beauty. There will be no shortage of water in any part of the country nor will there be disasters due to floods, water logging etc. India would have realized energy security and would be working towards energy independence. Good sanitation facilities will be available in homes in every part of India and for all Indians and tourists. We will be using more of renewable energy such as solar energy, wind power, bio-mass, mini and micro Hydel and thorium based nuclear reactors which are environment friendly energy sources.
Through responsive and innovative venture capital systems and entrepreneurial training both in schools and colleges, we will have more enterprises leading to a large number of employment generators rather than employment seekers. A pro-active healthcare system delivered through innovative schemes will provide quality healthcare access at an affordable cost to all the people including those living in remote areas. Everyone will have an opportunity to take up and complete courses of choice in higher education. In addition to the above economic, social and human development, India will also have a visible global presence in strategic sectors and will contribute to world peace. All our technological and economic advances while enhancing our prosperity would embed our value system derived from our civilizational heritage. This unique combination will make our growth robust and sustainable and will lead to a peaceful, secure, happy and prosperous society. For achieving Vision 2020 from the present ambience, we need a measurement tool which can guide us in our growth path. Since we are looking for inclusive growth for our one billion people, we need a comprehensive measure of our growth in terms of the National Prosperity Index.
National Prosperity Index
While our economy is very much in the ascent phase and our GDP is growing at nearly 9% per annum, it is evident that economic growth is not fully reflected in the quality of life of a large number of people, particularly in rural areas and even in urban areas. Hence, we have evolved what is called a "National Prosperity Index (NPI)" which is a summation of (a) Annual growth rate of GDP; plus (b) improvement in quality of life of the people, particularly those living below the poverty line plus (c) the adoption of a value system derived from our civilizational heritage in every walk of life which is unique to India. That is NPI=a+b+c. Particularly, 'b' is a function of availability of housing, good water, nutrition, proper sanitation, quality education, quality healthcare and employment potential. 'c' is a function of promoting the joint family system, creation of a spirit of working together, leading a righteous way of life, removing social inequities, and above all promoting a conflict free, harmonious society. This will be indicated by peace in families and communities, reduction in corruption index, reduction in court cases, elimination of violence against children and women and communal tensions. There should also be progressive reduction in the number of people living below the poverty line leading to its becoming near zero by 2020. All our efforts are directed towards improving the national economic performance guided by the measured National Prosperity Index of the nation at any point of time.
Conclusion
Imagine the efforts needed to achieve this mission. Based on my visits to all the states and union territories and my discussions with many people from different walks of life, I am convinced that it is possible for the country to be developed by 2020. We constitute one sixth of the global population and the transformation that we do to one sixth of the world will benefit the other population also. A great opportunity awaits you wherever you are in providing your contribution to this great transformation. I request all of you to participate in this mission of Developed India 2020 and to make it a reality by your attitude of give, give and give of the knowledge and experience you have gained over the years. This will be the singular contribution for which our motherland will be proud of you. Wish you all the best in all your missions.
May God bless you.
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam
18.09.2007
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Mera rang de basanti chola...
We don't realize how hard earned India's freedom was..some paid the price for everyone else. Its upon us to realize their dreams..
I'm hopeful...
I'm hopeful...
Friday, September 21, 2007
Laugh your way through life...and make others laugh..that's all life is all about..
This is an hour long talk by Prof. Randy Paush at Carnegie Mellon University - his last lecture before he leaves this world due to serious Cancer Illness in two months or so.
I've to be honest, I'd never heard of him before, but I'm full of awe and amazement as well as am totally inspired by what he taught in this one hour.
So many things we talk about in Corporate world, doing the right thing, integrity, team work, having fun at work, this man has demonstrated all of that while continuously dreaming big through out his life and enabling people to achieve their dreams. Even as he leaves this world, he leaves a legacy behind which is all about enabling people to achieve their dreams.
Believe me this one hour is worth every second. So watch it till the end.
I'm hopeful...
I've to be honest, I'd never heard of him before, but I'm full of awe and amazement as well as am totally inspired by what he taught in this one hour.
So many things we talk about in Corporate world, doing the right thing, integrity, team work, having fun at work, this man has demonstrated all of that while continuously dreaming big through out his life and enabling people to achieve their dreams. Even as he leaves this world, he leaves a legacy behind which is all about enabling people to achieve their dreams.
Believe me this one hour is worth every second. So watch it till the end.
I'm hopeful...
Thursday, September 13, 2007
What can I give to my nation?
On Republic Day, January 26, 2007, president Kalam addressed the nation ( President Kalam's Republic Day Speech). His address was to Indians who ask "What can I give to my nation?".
A Good Thing A Day is an effort which gives Indians a platform to hopefully start by taking baby steps to give something back to mother India and its people and then depending on what they want to do, accomplish big feats to take India forward in many many ways. A Good Thing A Day will also provide them a way to share, learn from other like minded people who dream of making India better, stronger every day.
I'm hopeful...
A Good Thing A Day is an effort which gives Indians a platform to hopefully start by taking baby steps to give something back to mother India and its people and then depending on what they want to do, accomplish big feats to take India forward in many many ways. A Good Thing A Day will also provide them a way to share, learn from other like minded people who dream of making India better, stronger every day.
I'm hopeful...
A Good Thing A Day
Today I started a new blog called "A Good Thing A Day". http://agoodthingaday.blogspot.com The blog is primarily focussed on making a call to so many able Indians to come forward and take a little time every day to do something good..some thing that they feel good about in their heart as they go to bed every night...something they are proud of.. and then spread the word or share their experiences with other people who would like to make a difference in lives of so many other Indians. These deeds could be simple things they do as they go through their busy schedules or could be really complicated initiatives..
I hope this blog/site will bring several like minded people together who want to do positive things and make India better. I hope people will share their experiences and also help each other in their endeavors. Social networking has been so powerful, but lets see if it works to improve the lives of millions of Indians or even a fraction of them.
I'm hopeful.
Navneet
Fir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (My heart is still Indian)
Accidentally I came across this song again today after a long time... and it touched me... I've always loved this song (especially its video)..reminds me of everything Indian..
My heart is and will always be Indian
My heart is and will always be Indian
Thursday, May 17, 2007
I'm Green
Last week we finished the Solar Energy Installation project at our home. Its a 3KW system. Currently its producing 20Units of electricity every day (i.e 600 KWh per month). Its tied to Grid and so we power energy into the Grid (the electric meter runs backwards when our production is more than consumption). Its pretty cool . Especially the feeling that I'm not contributing to Green House emission and Global Warming. Borrego Solar did a great job. ( http://borregosolar.com/). Also the aesthetics of our beautiful home also haven't been disturbed at all. I might post the pictures soon here.
If you have questions about Solar PV systems, just give me a shout. I'll be happy to answer.
If you have questions about Solar PV systems, just give me a shout. I'll be happy to answer.
I'm hopeful...
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Watch "An Inconvenient Truth at my expense"
For a limited time (for obvious reasons), I'm willing to sponsor anyone who wants to watch the movie " An Inconvenient Truth". You can write me an email and let me know, rent a dvd and later mail me the receipt with movie name on it. I'll mail you a check for the rental amount. If you find it in a theatre near you, go ahead and watch it and mail me the ticket stub with name of the movie on it . I'll mail you a check.
What do I ask in return? Well, two things:
1. a note about the movie and your perspective.
2 if you like the movie, sponsor as many friends as you can to see the movie and encourage them to do the same.
I'm hopeful ...
How much CO2 do I produce in my home?
10 bulbs each of 100 Watt used for 1 hr every day for one months = 10*100*1*30 =30Kwh . how much CO2 is that ??? thats 13kg of CO2. In my opinion thats already a lot of CO2 -a green house gas. (What is a green house : read at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_effect) But wait we just don't have bulbs, we have washing machine, dish washer, electric oven, fans, air conditioning and many more electricity consuming appliances.
Find out more accurate eastimate of CO2 you produce for yourself: http://www.nef.org.uk/energyadvice/co2calculator.htm
Look at your energy bill e.g PG&E. If you haven't ever looked at your energy bill , this might be a good time. Search for the detailed section of the bill and look for Kwh. (stands for Kilo Watt Hour and is the Unit of electricity).
Lets Meetup: Bay Area Green Energy Ideas and Opportunities Group
Well I was surprised when I didnit find any meetups in the bay area focussed on doing our bit to slow down global warming. I feel we here in the valley have a duty. Most of the technological advances have come from here . We are the ones who have been front runners of any technological advancement. We created IPods, Macs, Sun machines, Cisco Routers etc etc.. These and pretty much every company locally as well internationally consume a lot of energy and in turn contribute a lot to global warming.
So am wrong when I say it is the duty of us - who live in the valley to tell ourselves- guys its time for another invention- its time to change the lives of people around the world once again- this time to make it green- make green HIP, make green cool, make green the lifestyle everyone wants, make green an easier choice , make green the right choice, make green innovative no brainer products that people can buy with their eyes closed. Its time...
So I started a meetup hoping to find people here in bay area interested in joining forces: Here's the link. http://alternativeenergy.meetup.com/191/
Solar Energy is too expensive: Think Again
I did some research in the past few days and found that even though solar panels currently available on large scale are expensive, lots of research has been going on in this field and there are several promising ideas . One such company is Switzerland based Flisom who has a technology for highly efficient, low cost, light weight, mass producable solar panel. They claim that this can bring down the capital cost per watt of energy down from $3 today to $1 in 5 years (note that this is roughly the cost of electricity that comes from buring coal- which is the primary source of generating electricity in US) and to $0.50 in a decade.
Here's an article in Telegraph by CEO of Flisom : Anil Sethi: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/02/19/ccview19.xml
This could mean a large percentage of world residential and commercial energy needs being met by solutions like these. It could also mean people cars have similar cells on their roof top. It could mean an advancement in human civilization where cars are plugged into homes every evening to be charged by electricty produced by solar energy during the day. Lots of possibilities.. I'm hopeful ...
Friday, April 13, 2007
Green is In : What can I do?
With everyone talking about Green, I am starting a quest to find tips, tools, pointers and resources that help individuals across the world do their bit in cooling the planet earth- may be by reducing CO2 emissions , by choosing Green ways of living, planting trees (in right places.. yes latest research shows that planting trees in tropical regions is the right thing to do but planting trees in places where there is lots of snow fall defeats the purpose -reasoning is simple snow reflects 90% of sunlight but trees can reduce this to 10%)
Here's my first link:
I'll be posting lots and lots more here.. You may want to subscribe to my rss feed.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
And I've taken the first step
I did a little bit of research about Solar powered electricity for homes and got in touch with Borrego http://www.borregosolar.com/ . There are both CA state subsidy as well as Federal tax benefit available for going Solar. I'm exploring more...
Will keep you posted ..
Movies you should watch
1. Who Killed the Electric Car
2. An Inconvenient Truth
I watched them both this week and am totally inspired to do my bit for the environment ...
Peace...
I want Tesla Roadster
This is a beauty, performance, style all in one...It costs 92K + and that's the only reason I can't get it :) ...In 2010 they will come up with a Sedan roughly half the cost and holefully I will be able to afford it!
Peace ...
Monday, February 12, 2007
Fox Rent A Car Sucks
This past weekend I need to rent a 4WD (four wheel drive) car to go to Tahoe. So on Thursday night I made a reservation online on carrentals.com (email attached below). The reservation was specifically for a 4WD. On Friday afternoon I went to SJC airport to pickup the car. Here's where my nightmare begun.
The girl at the counter takes the print out of reservation and spends few minutes on her computer .She then asked for my driver's license which I gave her. She didn't tell me they didn't have a 4WD till I checked with her to confirm if what she was giving me was indeed a 4WD.
She snapped at me " We don't have any 4WD. I'm giving you what I've". I then told her that I'd very specifically wanted a 4WD and I need it. She tells me that she understands that I'd specifically reserved a 4WD but she doesn't have it and that either I can take what she is giving me or not get anything.
Next she says that carrentals.com lies about Fox Rent A Car and laughs with all her other buddies behind the desk. I asked her why do you do business with them? She tells me she is not the boss of Fox Rent a car and someone else higher up decided to do business with CarRentals.com. All this while there was no sign of apology or remorse for bad customer experience delivered instead an attitude of neglect and lack of care for customers.
Be careful in doing business with Fox Rent A Car !
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: CarRentals.com Support <support@carrentals.com>
Date: Feb 8, 2007 8:57 PM
Subject: CarRentals.com Car Reservation
To: NAVNEET ARON <navneetaron at gmail.com>
Dear NAVNEET,
Thank you for booking at CarRentals.com
The Fox Rental Counter Is In-Terminal
Below are the details of your reservation.
When you arrive at the Fox Pick-Up Location, use the following:
Fox Confirmation #: LFX0007F84
Car Vendor: Fox
Name: NAVNEET ARON
Phone: ###-###-####
Pick-Up Location:
SAN JOSE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (SJC)
2300 AIRPORT BLVD. STE. 160
SAN JOSE, CA 95110
Drop-Off Location:
SAN JOSE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (SJC)
2300 AIRPORT BLVD. STE. 160
SAN JOSE, CA 95110
Pick-Up Date/Time: Friday, February 9 4:00 PM
Drop-Off Date/Time: Sunday, February 11 2:00 PM
Vehicle Type: Intermediate 4WD
Features: Automatic Air Conditioning, Unlimited Mileage
2 Days @ $39.46/day = $78.92
Estimated Taxes and Fees: $22.24
TOTAL ESTIMATED CHARGES: $101.16
Have A Question About This Reservation?
Call 1-800-225-4369 Direct To Fox Representatives
Please Be Sure To Give Your Confirmation Number LFX0007F84
It's not too late to add collision insurance to this rental!
Only $11.99 A Day for $25,000 Collision coverage with a $0 deductible when purchased through CarRentals.com
Why pay $14 or $20 at the rental counter?
**New Features** View, Modify, Cancel, Contact Support, Add Collision Insurance, or Request A Copy Of This Reservation in Real-Time by clicking this link
http://www.carrentals.com/res/?018LFX0007F84
You can always contact customer support regarding this car reservation by visiting http://www.carrentals.com/customercare/ or by sending email to support@carrentals.com
Thank you for renting a car at CarRentals.com
Have a nice trip
--
Navneet Aron
http://navneetaron.blogspot.com/
Friday, February 09, 2007
India Poised
You see this every day in India . An India tied by the shakels of poverty, illiteracy, corruption ,racism, religious and regional divides, but on the other hand an India ready to fly with wings of enterpreneurialism, optimism, hard work, will and determination to succeed. http://www.indiapoised.com/ad_hindi/ad_hindi.wmv
Note that there is an english version of this as well.
Note that there is an english version of this as well.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
RatingCircle
I'm trying to build an open and free community of people who help community members find quality local services in their neighborhood. We all depend upon our neighbors, friends, colleagues for recommendations of local services like plumbers, auto-mechanics, hair salons, dentists and so on.
The challenge is to give sufficient incentive to internet users to provide quality reviews. I'll keep working on this in my free time. If you are interested in helping me out on this fun project, feel free to contact me at navneetaron at gmail dot com. Currently the site is hosted at http://ratingcircle.com
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Abdul Kalaam's Republic Day Speech , Jan 26 , 2007
In the eighties, children always used to ask me questions such
as "When can I sing the Song of India?" Today, the youth are asking
me, "What I can give to India?" This shows that the nation is on a
positive growth trajectory. The change in pattern of the questions is
indicative of the transformation which has taken place over the years.
Also, I receive many e-mails and letters asking me "what I can give to
India, my country?"
When I study the letters, messages and mails that I have
received and also the personal interactions with the people, I can
clearly see abundant opportunities in which every citizen can
contribute. I thought of sharing this with you: My topic of this
address will be -- "What can I give to my nation?
In Indian history, our nation has come across a situation, all
at a time, an ascending economic trajectory, continuously rising
foreign exchange reserves, increasing domestic investment with
investors' confidence rising steadily, global successes of Indian
managerial and entrepreneurial talents, global recognition of
technological competence, energy of 540 million youth, umbilical
connectivities of more than 25 million people of Indian origin in
various parts of the planet and the interest shown by many developed
countries to invest in our engineers and scientists through setting up
of new Research and Development Centres in India. The distinction
between the public and the private sectors and the illusory primacy of
one over the other is vanishing. Also, there is a trend that many
young people are opting for creating new enterprises instead of being
mere employees.
Providing leadership for the one billion people with
multi-cultural, multi-language and multi-religious backgrounds is
indeed the core competence of our nation. Our technological competence
and value systems with civilisational heritage are highly respected by
the world community. Also, Foreign Institutional Investors find
investing in India attractive as the returns are high and assured.
Indian industrialists are also investing abroad and opening
new business ventures. Our Gross Domestic Product which stands at U.S.
$ seven hundred and twenty 9 billion is poised to grow at 10 per cent
annually which along with various other concurrent actions, will
enhance the welfare of farmers, workers, professionals and unleash
creativity of entrepreneurs, business persons, scientists, engineers
and all other constituents of society.
Today due to the open sky policy and competitiveness air
travel has become affordable for the growing middle class. The
Railways have introduced many improvements and people can book tickets
through the Internet. The revolution in travel has not only connected
people but also boosted tourism and the economy. Tele-density in the
country has gone up to 18 per cent.
Mobile telephones are reaching the common man and serving
their needs. The one India plan has made calling across the country
easy and affordable. Our ICT sector is exporting more than $24 billion
and the Indian Pharma industry is ranked 4th in the world and exports
nearly $4 billion of products. Our $44 billion automobile industry is
growing at the rate of 17 per cent per annum. Our total exports in the
last 8 months has crossed U.S. $ eighty billion.
Our aerospace and aeronautical achievements are commendable.
Six remote sensing satellites of various resolutions and spectral
bands are providing valuable services in monitoring and management of
natural resources. These have been further complemented with
CARTOSAT-II launched on 10th January 2007 by PSLV-C7 along with the
Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE) and two other foreign
satellites. The SRE after performing micro gravity experiments in
orbit, has since been successfully recovered in Indian waters,
leading to another technological milestone.
Today, we have nine geo-stationary satellites in orbit
including an exclusive EDUSAT for education. The country has
successfully used advances in space technology and telecommunication
towards creating tele-education as well as tele-medicine networks and
village resource centres. SAKSHAT: The One Stop Education Portal has
been launched by the Government to serve the quality education needs
of 11th and 12th class students spread in any part of the country.
Broadband has reached up to the block level in all the Districts.
Students from abroad are coming to India for academic programmes,
training and internship and many foreign institutions have started
collaborating with Indian universities and academic institutions.
India's experience has resulted in providing the Pan African e-Network
connecting 53 countries.
The country has operationalised two strategic missile systems.
A state-of-the-art super sonic cruise missile system has also entered
into commercial production with an international partner.
The number of people living below poverty line has come down
to 22 percent and our literacy rate will soon touch 75 percent. Our
unemployment is around 9 percent of the employable population of 400
million people. The Central Government has launched comprehensive
rural development programmes called Bharat Nirman Programme,
Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission and Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme with substantial outlays for bringing the fruits of development
equitably to all sections of society irrespective of where they
reside. Implementation of PURA programmes has been undertaken by
number of state governments and private institutions in the country
resulting in a number of operational PURAs.
The Central government is planning to introduce two PURA
Clusters in each district across the country as a first phase. People
from all walks of life can be guiding forces and they can be partners
in executing national development programmes and ushering in a good
way of life. The State Governments have also launched a number of
missions including rural and infrastructure development activities
towards realising the goals of Vision 2020.
Against this backdrop, I would like to discuss with you the
ambience in 2020 for which we as a nation have to work.
If we perform in an integrated way with development politics
as the focus, in mission mode with transparency, I visualise even
before the year 2020, that a prosperous India is possible.
We expect the people below the poverty line to come to near
zero and our literacy must be nearly 100 percent. The Human
Development Index of India will be less than 50 against the present
127. Every Indian will have either a good university degree or quality
training with globally competitive employable vocational skills.
E-governance would be in position for all Government to Government
(G2G) and Government to Citizens (G2C) transactions making the
governance system transparent with the National ID card in position.
Tele-density will reach over 75 percent. All our villages will
have reliable, uninterrupted quality electric power supply. The
interlinking of rivers and water bodies and use of technology for
water collection, water recycling and water management will result in
equitable distribution of water for drinking, irrigation, industry,
navigation and as natural beauty.
There will be no shortage of water in any part of the country
nor will there be disasters due to floods, water logging etc. India
would have realised energy security and will be working towards energy
independence. Good sanitation facilities will be available at homes
in every part of India and for all Indians and tourists. We will be
using more of renewable energy such as solar energy, wind power,
bio-mass, mini and micro hydel and thorium based nuclear reactors,
adding less to the pollution.
Through responsive and innovative venture capital systems and
entrepreneurial training both in schools and colleges, we will have
more enterprises leading to a large number of employment generators
rather than employment seekers. A pro-active healthcare system
delivered through innovative schemes will provide quality healthcare
access at an affordable cost to all the people of the country
including those living in remote areas. Everyone will have an
opportunity to take up and complete courses of choice in higher
education.
I am sure you will all see prosperity in the country, which
will replace scarcity and control. In addition to the above economic,
social and human development, India will also have a visible global
presence in strategic sectors and will contribute to world peace. All
our technological and economic advances while enhancing our prosperity
would embed our value system derived from our civilisational heritage.
This unique combination will make our growth robust and sustainable
and will lead to a peaceful, secure, happy and prosperous society.
To achieve these goals, a national movement of development is
essential. In this movement, every citizen, every constituent of our
democracy has to participate. What can be the profile of people's
participation in this development movement? Citizens participation can
be in many important areas like; Reaching the unreached, feedback on
service to the people, Human Resource Development, Entrepreneurship,
Role of Home makers, Environment development, Youth participation in
the political system with a focus on developed India.
The government has doubled credit availability to the
agriculture sector in 2005-06 keeping 2004-05 as a base. NABARD and
banking and financial institutions have to work together to find
hassle-free methods of providing micro credit and micro investment to
needy farmers so that they are weaned away from the clutches of
elements who exploit them.
Simultaneously, agricultural researchers, extension workers
from academic institutions, non-governmental organisations and
industry should work closely with farmers and enable them to increase
productivity, storage, food processing and marketing. In addition,
they should facilitate the farmers to undertake non-farm tasks on the
lines of "one product per village cluster" scheme to promote export of
products based on the core-competence of the village for increasing
the sustainability of the rural sector as a whole. Insurance
companies have to come forward with micro insurance, crop insurance
and cattle insurance, apart from low cost medical insurance for
providing risk cover to farmers. Similarly, units like mobile
diagnostic clinics as in Uttarakhand may be operated in all the
districts to reach medicare to the unreached. Recently, I have come
across a number of initiatives by our judicial systems at various
levels for fast delivery of justice such as legal aid clinics,
mediation and conciliation, mobile court and lok-adalat and increasing
the number of days and number of hours of working per day.
Having mobile courts reaching the village to deliver justice
at the doorstep of rural citizens can reinforce these initiatives. The
corporate sector may also think of reaching the unreached as an
essential component of "Corporate Social Responsibility." In a world
dominated by communication, extending communication from the
privileged to include connectivity to the unreached should be part of
our technological upheaval.
Though India is known to be one of the best destinations for
outsourcing of many of the service and knowledge products, within our
society we are yet to grow to appreciate and pay for the services.
However, developed nations are gauged by the quality of service the
citizens get from the government and from the corporate with which
they do business. One mechanism by which we can continuously increase
the quality of service is through feedback. This should be done by
everyone without fear or bias. This feedback will enable all service
providers to constantly improve the quality of service irrespective of
what the service is. We will see a substantial increase in services
such as electricity, water, telephone, gas, transportation, education,
insurance, banking, legal and police. Service providers whether they
are in Government or in the private sector have to take feedback in
the right spirit and provide customer satisfaction both in the
short-term and in the long-term. Customers should also acknowledge
positive developments and celebrate improvements. This scenario should
lead to pride of service and competitiveness.
Websites and Portals have all along been the best source for
receiving feedback from the public, apart from meeting people
directly. I have been visiting Government websites of many agencies.
If the website does not provide latest information its utility
diminishes and loses the purpose for which the government department
websites were created.
It is necessary that these websites are constantly updated so
that they provide latest information and opportunities for feedback.
The website may also be used to provide information on the action
taken about a particular suggestion. It is essential that service
providing organisations create a user forum and meet them regularly
for proactively improving quality of service through a monitoring
mechanism. Government officers should make use of e-governance
portals and e-mails to stay continuously connected with the people and
take necessary actions. The recent step of the government to introduce
the Right to Information Act is a positive step towards transparency
in governance.
Presently our university education system is contributing 3
million graduates and post graduates every year and students seeking
employment after completion of 10th class and 10+2 class are around 7
million per year. Thus nearly 10 million youth are injected into the
employment market every year. In the 21st century, India needs a large
number of talented youth with higher education for the task of
knowledge acquisition, knowledge imparting, knowledge creation and
knowledge sharing.
At present India has five hundred and forty million youth
under the age of 25. This will continuously be growing till the year
2050. Keeping this resource in mind, the universities and educational
systems should create two cadres of personnel: (i) a global cadre of
skilled youth with specific knowledge of special skills (ii) another
global cadre of youth with higher education. These two cadres will be
required not only for powering the manufacturing and services sector
of India but also will be needed for fulfilling the human resource
requirements of various countries.
Thus, the universities and secondary school education system
will have to work towards increasing the through put of the higher
education system from the existing 11 percent to 20 percent by the
year 2015, 30 percent by the year 2020 and 50 percent by the year
2040.
Other Indians who are not covered by the higher education
system should all have world class skill sets in areas such as
construction, carpentry, electrical systems, repair of mechanical
systems, fashion design, para-legal, para-medical, accountancy, sales
and marketing, software and hardware maintenance and service, software
quality assurance to name a few. No Indian youth should be without
either a world-class higher education or without world class skill
sets.
This is an important task in which all universities, academic
specialists, colleges, vocational training institutions, certification
agencies, banking systems and industrial enterprises can contribute in
terms of assessing correct numbers, designing courses related to
nation building tasks, assessing and providing infrastructural
requirement, improving quality of teachers, ensuring teachers-students
ratio, complementing class room education with virtual class rooms
through tele-education and above all ensuring that students are able
to face international competition in employable skills.
Systems must be designed in such a way that no aspiring
competent student should be denied quality education. The system of
education must be able to maintain the required output quality. These
are examples of what the Government has to do to give an enabling
environment and how those who operate education systems have to give
to our youth. Then, our youth can give their knowledge skills in
making the nation prosperous.
Orientation for entrepreneurship has to start right from the
schools. Teachers need to teach the role of entrepreneurship in
national development in schools. During college education, students
must be exposed to business development opportunities and must be
trained towards creation of new enterprises. Parents should encourage
their children to take up new ventures after their education. We
should cultivate a mind set that "Idea is wealth." The Government must
create a facilitating environment for provision of venture capital for
innovative ideas without collateral security.
Universities, Engineering and Management institutions should
work with banks and other funding agencies towards simplifying
procedures and working with entrepreneurs till the project becomes
self-sustaining and viable. Procedures in Government should facilitate
the spotting and recognition of new Indian talents and small
entrepreneurs by creating a level playing field for healthy
competition. Citizens who can afford could turn themselves into angel
investors or start venture capital organisations to fund such
ventures. Big and small industries need to have a mind to encourage
and partner with young entrepreneurs.
Home makers have an important role to play in addition to
shaping the family. They can equally contribute to societal
upliftment. I have come across a project called "Siruthuli" which has
been taken up in Coimbatore. This project on large scale rain water
harvesting and activating the water bodies, aforestation, sewage and
waste water treatment and solid waste management, integrates a large
number of people from different walks of life. A home maker is
providing the leadership to this project. Many of the Panchayats
across the country have women members who have been giving leadership
in various rural development initiatives. Imagine the difference which
can be made in the six hundred thousand villages with such actions.
Environment can become clean and upgraded only through
countrywide active participation of citizens. People as a team can
participate in cleaning the environment like the cleaning of the Kali
Bein River. Spiritual leaders can play a very important role in
persuading devotees in the clean environment movement which will
promote the evolution of beautiful minds. Local groups can be formed
to demonstrate and teach cleanliness in local residential areas.
Welfare associations, NCC Cadets, Scouts, Guides and NSS Volunteers
can proactively form these groups. Industrialists should follow the
prescribed norms for environmental standards in all their institutions
and make buildings friendly to differently challenged people.
Government employees should keep their offices and their
environment clean as they would like to keep their homes. Parents and
teachers should teach the need for environmental friendly requirements
to younger citizens. Citizens can plant trees and nurture them in
their neighbourhood every year as a mission. Our public
infrastructure, airports, railway stations, bus stations, sea ports
and Hospitals form the face of the nation in the global environment.
It is the responsibility of all stakeholders including citizens to
promote cleanliness in all these public facilities.
The youth should take up politics as their career in large
numbers. Political Science should form part of the curriculum from
secondary to college level for all students with development politics
as the focus. Citizens should proactively cast their votes to select
candidates of known performance with honesty as the focus. Legal
personalities, experts and professionals should educate citizens about
the political process, constitution, procedures and their rights and
responsibilities.
Similarly there are many more important tasks like making
education accessible to every citizen, uplifting citizens below the
poverty level through a focused mission and accelerating agriculture
reforms. In the same way, there can be a movement in the judiciary for
time bound clearance of pending cases in district courts and high
courts within the next 3 years. The Judiciary and bar should ensure
that the common citizen gets speedy justice with nobility. While
citizens demand that our police force has to be transparent and action
oriented, it is also essential that police stations are electronically
connected and simultaneously they should be empowered with better
quality of life, like proper housing, sanitary facilities, medical
cover and children's education. This will enable them to concentrate
in their work with peace of mind and thereby output from the police
would increase. Above all our women folk constitute fifty percent of
our population. Their dignity should be protected and they should get
proper representation in all decision making institutions like
Panchayat systems. Our Panchayat Boards really represent the village
citizens and they should ensure that all development funds allotted
for rural development in their area are properly utilised for the
intended purpose without dilution. Dear friends, there are many more
areas in which citizens can participate towards the national
development movement. Now let me focus on national security.
Our Armed Forces and Paramilitary Forces, day or night, are
awake guarding our borders on the land, in the air and at sea and
remain vigilant to counter any threat and facilitate unhindered
progress of national development. I have experienced this
personally, when I visited the Siachen Glacier at an altitude of 17000
ft. The temperature at minus 35 degrees centigrade with heavy winds,
did not deter our courageous Jawans. When, I was in the submarine, I
saw young sailors and naval officers functioning efficiently and
vigilantly in the silent sea keeping all round vigil on their mission
in the Indian ocean.
When I was with 20 Squadron of the Indian Air Force, I
experienced how our fighter pilots can meet any challenge of
multi-targets through radar missiles and EW systems. We cherish the
valour, commitment and devotion to duty of these gallant personnel
of our Armed Forces. Our Police Forces and Intelligence agencies
complement each other and provide safety and security to our citizens
from unscrupulous elements, criminals and extremists. Many persons
from these forces have laid down their lives while protecting the
nation, the flag and our people. We salute them all. Our colleges and
universities must not only generate excellent entrepreneurs,
researchers but also generate the best soldiers for our country.
Parents should encourage their children to participate in national
security missions.
Some recent incidences of crime against children have shocked
the whole nation and left deep scars in all of us. Children are our
national wealth. Cruelty to children is against the fabric of society
which cannot be tolerated at any cost. Concerted action by all
concerned in society such as watchful neighbours, fast action
oriented police machinery, vigilant media and speedy exemplary
punishment to perpetrators of crime by the judicial system is the
need of the hour. In addition, as a preventive action we have to
identify people who have such tendency in society through modern
psychological test aids. Eradication of cruelty towards children
should be the mission of every Indian since they are our future.
Developed India by 2020 is a mission of a billion people.
Every one of us has a role to play. It will be a reality if everyone
"Gives - What I can give", through individual, societal and nationwide
participation in a national movement facilitated by the Government.
My interactions with our citizens in India and abroad, particularly
the youth demonstrate to me the positive energy flowing from
individuals which make them eager to give all they can to make India
developed. The attitude of giving by every citizen and each group will
definitely be an enriching factor for the whole nation leading to an
accelerated development process.
When the nation marches towards its missions, many challenges
will come on the way. Courage is a very important trait for all
sections of society in overcoming these challenges. I would like to
narrate one incident. On 8th June 2006, I was in the flight of
Su-30-MKI. The captain of the aircraft was Wing Commander Ajay
Rathore. The duration of the flight was 40 minutes. I participated in
all flight actions. When I landed, there were many youth and media
personnel.
One young man asked me a question, "Mr President, please tell
me, since you have flown in the supersonic fighter aircraft at the age
of 74, were you afraid anytime during the flight." I told the young
man, "All the 40 minutes of the flight, I was busy on the controls and
instruments and experiencing the "g" build up. I was advised by the
captain to track targets and also look at the ground using the
synthetic aperture radar. In addition, I was observing the performance
of the instruments developed indigenously. I was continuously busy in
the flight operations and I didn't have time to allow fear to enter
into me." Now, dear young friends who have assembled in front of me
and the nation, I have a message of Courage for you.
Courage to Give
"Courage to think different,
Courage to invent,
Courage to discover the impossible,
Courage to travel into an unexplored path,
Courage to share knowledge
Courage to remove pain
Courage to reach the unreached
Courage to combat problems
And Succeed,
Are the unique qualities of youth."
As the youth of my nation, I will work and work with courage
to achieve success in all my missions.
My dear citizens, let me once again wish you a very purposeful
and happy Republic Day.
May God bless you.
Jai Hind.
as "When can I sing the Song of India?" Today, the youth are asking
me, "What I can give to India?" This shows that the nation is on a
positive growth trajectory. The change in pattern of the questions is
indicative of the transformation which has taken place over the years.
Also, I receive many e-mails and letters asking me "what I can give to
India, my country?"
When I study the letters, messages and mails that I have
received and also the personal interactions with the people, I can
clearly see abundant opportunities in which every citizen can
contribute. I thought of sharing this with you: My topic of this
address will be -- "What can I give to my nation?
In Indian history, our nation has come across a situation, all
at a time, an ascending economic trajectory, continuously rising
foreign exchange reserves, increasing domestic investment with
investors' confidence rising steadily, global successes of Indian
managerial and entrepreneurial talents, global recognition of
technological competence, energy of 540 million youth, umbilical
connectivities of more than 25 million people of Indian origin in
various parts of the planet and the interest shown by many developed
countries to invest in our engineers and scientists through setting up
of new Research and Development Centres in India. The distinction
between the public and the private sectors and the illusory primacy of
one over the other is vanishing. Also, there is a trend that many
young people are opting for creating new enterprises instead of being
mere employees.
Providing leadership for the one billion people with
multi-cultural, multi-language and multi-religious backgrounds is
indeed the core competence of our nation. Our technological competence
and value systems with civilisational heritage are highly respected by
the world community. Also, Foreign Institutional Investors find
investing in India attractive as the returns are high and assured.
Indian industrialists are also investing abroad and opening
new business ventures. Our Gross Domestic Product which stands at U.S.
$ seven hundred and twenty 9 billion is poised to grow at 10 per cent
annually which along with various other concurrent actions, will
enhance the welfare of farmers, workers, professionals and unleash
creativity of entrepreneurs, business persons, scientists, engineers
and all other constituents of society.
Today due to the open sky policy and competitiveness air
travel has become affordable for the growing middle class. The
Railways have introduced many improvements and people can book tickets
through the Internet. The revolution in travel has not only connected
people but also boosted tourism and the economy. Tele-density in the
country has gone up to 18 per cent.
Mobile telephones are reaching the common man and serving
their needs. The one India plan has made calling across the country
easy and affordable. Our ICT sector is exporting more than $24 billion
and the Indian Pharma industry is ranked 4th in the world and exports
nearly $4 billion of products. Our $44 billion automobile industry is
growing at the rate of 17 per cent per annum. Our total exports in the
last 8 months has crossed U.S. $ eighty billion.
Our aerospace and aeronautical achievements are commendable.
Six remote sensing satellites of various resolutions and spectral
bands are providing valuable services in monitoring and management of
natural resources. These have been further complemented with
CARTOSAT-II launched on 10th January 2007 by PSLV-C7 along with the
Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE) and two other foreign
satellites. The SRE after performing micro gravity experiments in
orbit, has since been successfully recovered in Indian waters,
leading to another technological milestone.
Today, we have nine geo-stationary satellites in orbit
including an exclusive EDUSAT for education. The country has
successfully used advances in space technology and telecommunication
towards creating tele-education as well as tele-medicine networks and
village resource centres. SAKSHAT: The One Stop Education Portal has
been launched by the Government to serve the quality education needs
of 11th and 12th class students spread in any part of the country.
Broadband has reached up to the block level in all the Districts.
Students from abroad are coming to India for academic programmes,
training and internship and many foreign institutions have started
collaborating with Indian universities and academic institutions.
India's experience has resulted in providing the Pan African e-Network
connecting 53 countries.
The country has operationalised two strategic missile systems.
A state-of-the-art super sonic cruise missile system has also entered
into commercial production with an international partner.
The number of people living below poverty line has come down
to 22 percent and our literacy rate will soon touch 75 percent. Our
unemployment is around 9 percent of the employable population of 400
million people. The Central Government has launched comprehensive
rural development programmes called Bharat Nirman Programme,
Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission and Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme with substantial outlays for bringing the fruits of development
equitably to all sections of society irrespective of where they
reside. Implementation of PURA programmes has been undertaken by
number of state governments and private institutions in the country
resulting in a number of operational PURAs.
The Central government is planning to introduce two PURA
Clusters in each district across the country as a first phase. People
from all walks of life can be guiding forces and they can be partners
in executing national development programmes and ushering in a good
way of life. The State Governments have also launched a number of
missions including rural and infrastructure development activities
towards realising the goals of Vision 2020.
Against this backdrop, I would like to discuss with you the
ambience in 2020 for which we as a nation have to work.
If we perform in an integrated way with development politics
as the focus, in mission mode with transparency, I visualise even
before the year 2020, that a prosperous India is possible.
We expect the people below the poverty line to come to near
zero and our literacy must be nearly 100 percent. The Human
Development Index of India will be less than 50 against the present
127. Every Indian will have either a good university degree or quality
training with globally competitive employable vocational skills.
E-governance would be in position for all Government to Government
(G2G) and Government to Citizens (G2C) transactions making the
governance system transparent with the National ID card in position.
Tele-density will reach over 75 percent. All our villages will
have reliable, uninterrupted quality electric power supply. The
interlinking of rivers and water bodies and use of technology for
water collection, water recycling and water management will result in
equitable distribution of water for drinking, irrigation, industry,
navigation and as natural beauty.
There will be no shortage of water in any part of the country
nor will there be disasters due to floods, water logging etc. India
would have realised energy security and will be working towards energy
independence. Good sanitation facilities will be available at homes
in every part of India and for all Indians and tourists. We will be
using more of renewable energy such as solar energy, wind power,
bio-mass, mini and micro hydel and thorium based nuclear reactors,
adding less to the pollution.
Through responsive and innovative venture capital systems and
entrepreneurial training both in schools and colleges, we will have
more enterprises leading to a large number of employment generators
rather than employment seekers. A pro-active healthcare system
delivered through innovative schemes will provide quality healthcare
access at an affordable cost to all the people of the country
including those living in remote areas. Everyone will have an
opportunity to take up and complete courses of choice in higher
education.
I am sure you will all see prosperity in the country, which
will replace scarcity and control. In addition to the above economic,
social and human development, India will also have a visible global
presence in strategic sectors and will contribute to world peace. All
our technological and economic advances while enhancing our prosperity
would embed our value system derived from our civilisational heritage.
This unique combination will make our growth robust and sustainable
and will lead to a peaceful, secure, happy and prosperous society.
To achieve these goals, a national movement of development is
essential. In this movement, every citizen, every constituent of our
democracy has to participate. What can be the profile of people's
participation in this development movement? Citizens participation can
be in many important areas like; Reaching the unreached, feedback on
service to the people, Human Resource Development, Entrepreneurship,
Role of Home makers, Environment development, Youth participation in
the political system with a focus on developed India.
The government has doubled credit availability to the
agriculture sector in 2005-06 keeping 2004-05 as a base. NABARD and
banking and financial institutions have to work together to find
hassle-free methods of providing micro credit and micro investment to
needy farmers so that they are weaned away from the clutches of
elements who exploit them.
Simultaneously, agricultural researchers, extension workers
from academic institutions, non-governmental organisations and
industry should work closely with farmers and enable them to increase
productivity, storage, food processing and marketing. In addition,
they should facilitate the farmers to undertake non-farm tasks on the
lines of "one product per village cluster" scheme to promote export of
products based on the core-competence of the village for increasing
the sustainability of the rural sector as a whole. Insurance
companies have to come forward with micro insurance, crop insurance
and cattle insurance, apart from low cost medical insurance for
providing risk cover to farmers. Similarly, units like mobile
diagnostic clinics as in Uttarakhand may be operated in all the
districts to reach medicare to the unreached. Recently, I have come
across a number of initiatives by our judicial systems at various
levels for fast delivery of justice such as legal aid clinics,
mediation and conciliation, mobile court and lok-adalat and increasing
the number of days and number of hours of working per day.
Having mobile courts reaching the village to deliver justice
at the doorstep of rural citizens can reinforce these initiatives. The
corporate sector may also think of reaching the unreached as an
essential component of "Corporate Social Responsibility." In a world
dominated by communication, extending communication from the
privileged to include connectivity to the unreached should be part of
our technological upheaval.
Though India is known to be one of the best destinations for
outsourcing of many of the service and knowledge products, within our
society we are yet to grow to appreciate and pay for the services.
However, developed nations are gauged by the quality of service the
citizens get from the government and from the corporate with which
they do business. One mechanism by which we can continuously increase
the quality of service is through feedback. This should be done by
everyone without fear or bias. This feedback will enable all service
providers to constantly improve the quality of service irrespective of
what the service is. We will see a substantial increase in services
such as electricity, water, telephone, gas, transportation, education,
insurance, banking, legal and police. Service providers whether they
are in Government or in the private sector have to take feedback in
the right spirit and provide customer satisfaction both in the
short-term and in the long-term. Customers should also acknowledge
positive developments and celebrate improvements. This scenario should
lead to pride of service and competitiveness.
Websites and Portals have all along been the best source for
receiving feedback from the public, apart from meeting people
directly. I have been visiting Government websites of many agencies.
If the website does not provide latest information its utility
diminishes and loses the purpose for which the government department
websites were created.
It is necessary that these websites are constantly updated so
that they provide latest information and opportunities for feedback.
The website may also be used to provide information on the action
taken about a particular suggestion. It is essential that service
providing organisations create a user forum and meet them regularly
for proactively improving quality of service through a monitoring
mechanism. Government officers should make use of e-governance
portals and e-mails to stay continuously connected with the people and
take necessary actions. The recent step of the government to introduce
the Right to Information Act is a positive step towards transparency
in governance.
Presently our university education system is contributing 3
million graduates and post graduates every year and students seeking
employment after completion of 10th class and 10+2 class are around 7
million per year. Thus nearly 10 million youth are injected into the
employment market every year. In the 21st century, India needs a large
number of talented youth with higher education for the task of
knowledge acquisition, knowledge imparting, knowledge creation and
knowledge sharing.
At present India has five hundred and forty million youth
under the age of 25. This will continuously be growing till the year
2050. Keeping this resource in mind, the universities and educational
systems should create two cadres of personnel: (i) a global cadre of
skilled youth with specific knowledge of special skills (ii) another
global cadre of youth with higher education. These two cadres will be
required not only for powering the manufacturing and services sector
of India but also will be needed for fulfilling the human resource
requirements of various countries.
Thus, the universities and secondary school education system
will have to work towards increasing the through put of the higher
education system from the existing 11 percent to 20 percent by the
year 2015, 30 percent by the year 2020 and 50 percent by the year
2040.
Other Indians who are not covered by the higher education
system should all have world class skill sets in areas such as
construction, carpentry, electrical systems, repair of mechanical
systems, fashion design, para-legal, para-medical, accountancy, sales
and marketing, software and hardware maintenance and service, software
quality assurance to name a few. No Indian youth should be without
either a world-class higher education or without world class skill
sets.
This is an important task in which all universities, academic
specialists, colleges, vocational training institutions, certification
agencies, banking systems and industrial enterprises can contribute in
terms of assessing correct numbers, designing courses related to
nation building tasks, assessing and providing infrastructural
requirement, improving quality of teachers, ensuring teachers-students
ratio, complementing class room education with virtual class rooms
through tele-education and above all ensuring that students are able
to face international competition in employable skills.
Systems must be designed in such a way that no aspiring
competent student should be denied quality education. The system of
education must be able to maintain the required output quality. These
are examples of what the Government has to do to give an enabling
environment and how those who operate education systems have to give
to our youth. Then, our youth can give their knowledge skills in
making the nation prosperous.
Orientation for entrepreneurship has to start right from the
schools. Teachers need to teach the role of entrepreneurship in
national development in schools. During college education, students
must be exposed to business development opportunities and must be
trained towards creation of new enterprises. Parents should encourage
their children to take up new ventures after their education. We
should cultivate a mind set that "Idea is wealth." The Government must
create a facilitating environment for provision of venture capital for
innovative ideas without collateral security.
Universities, Engineering and Management institutions should
work with banks and other funding agencies towards simplifying
procedures and working with entrepreneurs till the project becomes
self-sustaining and viable. Procedures in Government should facilitate
the spotting and recognition of new Indian talents and small
entrepreneurs by creating a level playing field for healthy
competition. Citizens who can afford could turn themselves into angel
investors or start venture capital organisations to fund such
ventures. Big and small industries need to have a mind to encourage
and partner with young entrepreneurs.
Home makers have an important role to play in addition to
shaping the family. They can equally contribute to societal
upliftment. I have come across a project called "Siruthuli" which has
been taken up in Coimbatore. This project on large scale rain water
harvesting and activating the water bodies, aforestation, sewage and
waste water treatment and solid waste management, integrates a large
number of people from different walks of life. A home maker is
providing the leadership to this project. Many of the Panchayats
across the country have women members who have been giving leadership
in various rural development initiatives. Imagine the difference which
can be made in the six hundred thousand villages with such actions.
Environment can become clean and upgraded only through
countrywide active participation of citizens. People as a team can
participate in cleaning the environment like the cleaning of the Kali
Bein River. Spiritual leaders can play a very important role in
persuading devotees in the clean environment movement which will
promote the evolution of beautiful minds. Local groups can be formed
to demonstrate and teach cleanliness in local residential areas.
Welfare associations, NCC Cadets, Scouts, Guides and NSS Volunteers
can proactively form these groups. Industrialists should follow the
prescribed norms for environmental standards in all their institutions
and make buildings friendly to differently challenged people.
Government employees should keep their offices and their
environment clean as they would like to keep their homes. Parents and
teachers should teach the need for environmental friendly requirements
to younger citizens. Citizens can plant trees and nurture them in
their neighbourhood every year as a mission. Our public
infrastructure, airports, railway stations, bus stations, sea ports
and Hospitals form the face of the nation in the global environment.
It is the responsibility of all stakeholders including citizens to
promote cleanliness in all these public facilities.
The youth should take up politics as their career in large
numbers. Political Science should form part of the curriculum from
secondary to college level for all students with development politics
as the focus. Citizens should proactively cast their votes to select
candidates of known performance with honesty as the focus. Legal
personalities, experts and professionals should educate citizens about
the political process, constitution, procedures and their rights and
responsibilities.
Similarly there are many more important tasks like making
education accessible to every citizen, uplifting citizens below the
poverty level through a focused mission and accelerating agriculture
reforms. In the same way, there can be a movement in the judiciary for
time bound clearance of pending cases in district courts and high
courts within the next 3 years. The Judiciary and bar should ensure
that the common citizen gets speedy justice with nobility. While
citizens demand that our police force has to be transparent and action
oriented, it is also essential that police stations are electronically
connected and simultaneously they should be empowered with better
quality of life, like proper housing, sanitary facilities, medical
cover and children's education. This will enable them to concentrate
in their work with peace of mind and thereby output from the police
would increase. Above all our women folk constitute fifty percent of
our population. Their dignity should be protected and they should get
proper representation in all decision making institutions like
Panchayat systems. Our Panchayat Boards really represent the village
citizens and they should ensure that all development funds allotted
for rural development in their area are properly utilised for the
intended purpose without dilution. Dear friends, there are many more
areas in which citizens can participate towards the national
development movement. Now let me focus on national security.
Our Armed Forces and Paramilitary Forces, day or night, are
awake guarding our borders on the land, in the air and at sea and
remain vigilant to counter any threat and facilitate unhindered
progress of national development. I have experienced this
personally, when I visited the Siachen Glacier at an altitude of 17000
ft. The temperature at minus 35 degrees centigrade with heavy winds,
did not deter our courageous Jawans. When, I was in the submarine, I
saw young sailors and naval officers functioning efficiently and
vigilantly in the silent sea keeping all round vigil on their mission
in the Indian ocean.
When I was with 20 Squadron of the Indian Air Force, I
experienced how our fighter pilots can meet any challenge of
multi-targets through radar missiles and EW systems. We cherish the
valour, commitment and devotion to duty of these gallant personnel
of our Armed Forces. Our Police Forces and Intelligence agencies
complement each other and provide safety and security to our citizens
from unscrupulous elements, criminals and extremists. Many persons
from these forces have laid down their lives while protecting the
nation, the flag and our people. We salute them all. Our colleges and
universities must not only generate excellent entrepreneurs,
researchers but also generate the best soldiers for our country.
Parents should encourage their children to participate in national
security missions.
Some recent incidences of crime against children have shocked
the whole nation and left deep scars in all of us. Children are our
national wealth. Cruelty to children is against the fabric of society
which cannot be tolerated at any cost. Concerted action by all
concerned in society such as watchful neighbours, fast action
oriented police machinery, vigilant media and speedy exemplary
punishment to perpetrators of crime by the judicial system is the
need of the hour. In addition, as a preventive action we have to
identify people who have such tendency in society through modern
psychological test aids. Eradication of cruelty towards children
should be the mission of every Indian since they are our future.
Developed India by 2020 is a mission of a billion people.
Every one of us has a role to play. It will be a reality if everyone
"Gives - What I can give", through individual, societal and nationwide
participation in a national movement facilitated by the Government.
My interactions with our citizens in India and abroad, particularly
the youth demonstrate to me the positive energy flowing from
individuals which make them eager to give all they can to make India
developed. The attitude of giving by every citizen and each group will
definitely be an enriching factor for the whole nation leading to an
accelerated development process.
When the nation marches towards its missions, many challenges
will come on the way. Courage is a very important trait for all
sections of society in overcoming these challenges. I would like to
narrate one incident. On 8th June 2006, I was in the flight of
Su-30-MKI. The captain of the aircraft was Wing Commander Ajay
Rathore. The duration of the flight was 40 minutes. I participated in
all flight actions. When I landed, there were many youth and media
personnel.
One young man asked me a question, "Mr President, please tell
me, since you have flown in the supersonic fighter aircraft at the age
of 74, were you afraid anytime during the flight." I told the young
man, "All the 40 minutes of the flight, I was busy on the controls and
instruments and experiencing the "g" build up. I was advised by the
captain to track targets and also look at the ground using the
synthetic aperture radar. In addition, I was observing the performance
of the instruments developed indigenously. I was continuously busy in
the flight operations and I didn't have time to allow fear to enter
into me." Now, dear young friends who have assembled in front of me
and the nation, I have a message of Courage for you.
Courage to Give
"Courage to think different,
Courage to invent,
Courage to discover the impossible,
Courage to travel into an unexplored path,
Courage to share knowledge
Courage to remove pain
Courage to reach the unreached
Courage to combat problems
And Succeed,
Are the unique qualities of youth."
As the youth of my nation, I will work and work with courage
to achieve success in all my missions.
My dear citizens, let me once again wish you a very purposeful
and happy Republic Day.
May God bless you.
Jai Hind.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)