Abdul Kalam’s Vision for India for 2020

January 28, 2012, 6:05 pm 

by R.M.B Senanayake

Dr. Abdul Kalam was a recent visitor to our shores to promote trilingualism. But tri-lingualism as a goal is in my opinion unrealistic. What is required is not trilingualism but bilingualism which means Sinhala and Tamil proficiency among public employees. But the Sinhalese public officers have not been keen to learn Tamil. Meanwhile the Swabasha policy means that Tamil students must study in Tamil and the Sinhalese in Sinhala. There is no provision even for children of mixed parents to select their mother tongue for school education. Gnana Moonesinghe has spotlighted the general unwillingness of Sinhalese officials to learn Tamil. But if the central government wants to influence the decisions of the Provincial Council of the North or the East, then the central government officials will have to be proficient in Tamil.

To return to Dr Abdul Kalam, he was not only the President of India but also the architect of the Vision for India 2020 which he published as a book along with Y.S. Rajan. In Chapter 1 he asked the question "Can India become a developed country?" What makes a developed country? Our own target to be the wonder of Asia is to double per capita income in money terms. But developed country status involves much more than economic wealth. It involves modernization of the state, society and the economy. Nor can economic wealth be measured by per capita GDP in money terms for hyper inflation would lead to a doubling or even trebling of per capital incomes in a very short time period. The GDP per capita must be measured in real terms adjusting for inflation.

But GDP per capita is also not a sufficient measure of the income level of the majority of the people. Per capita income doesn’t mean that all the people enjoy this same measure of income.  In fact the majority of the people, over 50 %, may be getting a per capita income which is much less than the average due to the skewed distribution of incomes. So economists generally go by the median income and for this purpose the personal income distribution which provides the number of persons in each income bracket is used. 

Economic wealth requires other measures also to be taken into account such as the Balance of Payments, the Foreign Exchange Reserves, the rate of economic growth. It is only a part of the picture in assessing a developed country status. But it can conceal a considerable number of people living in economic deprivation.

Dr Kalam has explained what he meant by developed country status for India in 2020. It is in his own words  ``an economy where there is an equitable distribution of incomes, adequate access to energy and quality water; where agriculture, industry and service sector work together in symphony; where education with a value system is not denied to any meritorious candidates because of societal or economic discrimination; where the country  is the best destination for the most talented scholars, scientists, and investors; where the urban rural divide has reduced to a thin line; where there is equitable distribution; where the best health care is available to all; where governance is responsive, transparent and free of corruption; where there is total literacy ; where poverty has been totally eradicated, illiteracy removed and crimes against women and children are absent and none in the society feels alienated; prosperous, healthy, secure, devoid of terrorism, peaceful and happy and continues with a sustainable growth path; that is one of the best places to live in and is proud of its leadership through creative and effective leadership in Parliament, State Assemblies and other institutions of the State".

Unlike us the Indian planners emphasized the need to introduce western technology into the economy. Dr Abdul Kalam chaired the Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC). The Council set about evolving a plan how India can be transformed into an economically developed nation by the year 2020. India has a significant number of scientists, engineers, mathematicians and agriculturists  who could draw up such a Technology Plan. That was the time (1991) the then prime minister had just announced the economic liberalization and growth measures for the Indian economy and its impact had just started being felt.

We had our own economic liberalization inaugurated by President J.R Jayewardene in 1977. But we failed to make headway because our policymakers’ attention was diverted to the ethnic issue. Instead of taking a liberal and modern approach to this problem we were carried away by ethno-religious nationalism and were diverted to a civil war which lasted 30 years with much loss of life and limb. It is a standing indictment on some politicians and those who refused to allow politicians to resolve the issue.

Priorities for Investment and Growth

Agriculture and food processing: India hopes to generate 400 million tonnes of food grains with reduced land, with reduced water and with reduced workforce from the present 200 million tonnes. New technology was recognized as necessary in the agriculture area from seeds to cultivation to grain, food process and marketing. Value addition in the farm produce would be the focus in the 11th plan period and it would have an impact on the increase in productivity and economic growth. This entire chain would enable employment particularly in rural areas in a big way.

Infrastructure: India is aspiring to build hundred million homes within the next ten years. The infrastructure development in metropolitan and tier-two cities was to be enhanced in the form of new bridges, airports, marketing complexes and industrial units. 40% of the rural areas were to be covered with all weather roads; to double the present national highways ratio per 100 square kilometer area. Simultaneously it was resolved to develop ports, railway systems and airports. This would need harnessing specialized quality human resources in all the spectrum of infrastructure activity. This is something we have signally failed to do and the Norochcholai maintenance failure illustrates this.

Energy: Energy Independence (coming out of fossil fuel) by the year 2030 is India’s target. An energy growth rate of 5% per annum was envisaged. Electric power generation in India now uses four basic energy sources: fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal; hydroelectricity; nuclear power; and renewable energy sources such as bio-fuels, solar, biomass, wind and ocean. A major thrust in solar energy and wind energy for generating over 120,000 MW by 2030 through these two renewable energy sources was emphasized. Similarly to harness over 65,000 MW from hydro power sources and 50,000 MW from nuclear energy sources was envisaged.

Water Mission: The Networking of Rivers, interlinking of rivers and other water sources within each state was emphasized. This mission would eliminate the periodical problem of floods experienced in a number of river basin states and help manage the drought most of the time and ensure availability of water and power throughout the year. In addition to embark on water harvesting and desalination of sea water as national missions was stressed.  Simultaneously another major mission was to create and strengthen the inland waterways programmes and convert into smart waterways.

Sustainable Rural Development through PURA (Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas): In India or Sri Lanka, the development of a rural sector is very important. Government, private and public sectors have been taking up rural development in parts. For example, starting schools, healthcare centers, laying roads, building houses, building a marketing complex, giving a communication link in a particular rural area have been taken up in the past as individual activities. What was needed said Dr Abdul Kalam, was a rural development programme PURA which envisages an integrated development plan with employment generation as the focus, driven by provision of the habitat, healthcare, education, skill development, physical and electronic connectivity and marketing. This is best done through a devolved authority.

PURA Mission: The entire country will have 7,000 PURAs encompassing over 600,000 villages. The theme of PURA, apart from concentrating on reinforcing agriculture, was to emphasize agro processing, development of rural craftsmanship, dairy, fishing, silk production, so that the non-farm revenue for the rural sector is enhanced, based on the core competence of the region. Also the rural economy would be driven by renewable energy such as solar, wind, bio-fuel and conversion of municipal waste into power. In this approach, the aim was to make sustainable development using the core competence of the rural sector.

The programmes mentioned above were recognized as having a have social, research and technological content. Such research would have to be undertaken by the universities and think tanks. They also have a substantial amount of business opportunities leading to economic growth in the globalized scenario.