The energy and good cheer were intact as A P J Abdul Kalam ignited more young minds on Tuesday. Addressing close to 6,000 students from around 120 schools at the inauguration of Renaissance 2007: The New Generation Conference, the former president, in characteristic style, traced out the roadmap of his Vision 2020.
In his keynote address at the conference, organised by Rotary International District 3190, Kalam called for uplifting the Below Poverty Line population.
He said the task could be achieved if the GDP growth rate was raised to 10 per cent and maintained through the next 10 years. “In 2020, I see a beautiful, prosperous, happy and safe India... for that, the urban-rural divide has to be reduced to a thin line and there should be access to energy and quality water,” he said.
Key factors
Kalam listed agriculture and food processing industries, education and healthcare, information and communication technologies, infrastructure and self-reliance in critical technologies as five key factors in realising Vision 2020.
He also urged students to join the political system. While asking students to spell out their dream careers, the former president noticed that there weren’t many takers for politics. “We need young and honest leaders... so don’t boycott politics,” he said. Kalam reminisced how his fifth standard science teacher Sivasubramanya Iyer — by detailing a bird’s flight — shaped his vision of life. At the end of the interaction, he also urged the students to email him queries and thoughts (apj@abdulkalam.com).
Students’ conference
Renaissance 2007 brought together school children aged between 13 and 18 years. Tuesday’s sessions featured speakers including Sucharita Hegde of One India one people, a Mumbai-based NGO, theatreperson Prakash Belawadi and Sandeep Shastri, chairperson of the Creative Institute of Teaching.
ROADMAP
*Synchronised agriculture, industry and service sectors
*Education that nurtures values and spirit of inquiry
*Transparent, corruption-free administration
*Good citizens, shaped in primary schools
