Leadership is key to development: Kalam
Abdul Kalam: Leadership is Key to Development. It is essential to evolve the developmental radar to review and monitor how science and technology has benefited the people.
‘No book can teach you how to manage failure. One has to have a dream and follow it. My teacher, an Indian in British India taught me how to fly and I became a rocket scientist’- APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India
Hyderabad: It is essential to evolve the developmental radar to review and monitor how science and technology has benefited the people.
This would be the basis of our approach on development radar based on eight essential empowerment attributes, which were critical for realising a happy, prosperous and peaceful society, said former President APJ Abdul Kalam while delivering a lecture on ‘Future of Indian Children’ at the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS) here on Friday.
On transforming India, the former President said, “We have identified five areas where India has core competence for an integrated action. The areas are agriculture and food processing, reliable and quality electric power, surface transport and infrastructure, education and healthcare and self-reliance in critical technologies. These five areas are inter-related and have progressed in a coordinated way.”
Dr Kalam asserted that leadership was the key to development and there was a need to develop the youth in leadership roles. In response to a question on the qualities of a good leader, he recalled the role of former chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Prof. Satish Dhawan.
“When the first effort to send a Satellite Launch Vehicle failed in 1979, Prof Satish Dhawan addressed the media and shielded me. In the following year, a launch was successful and Prof Dhawan sent me to address the media. A good leader takes the failure in his side and in success, he takes the team along,” said Dr Kalam.
In response to questions on how to weed out corruption, he told the gathering to first become honest and do their bit instead of complaining. “No book can teach you how to manage failure. One has to have a dream and follow it. My teacher, an Indian in British India taught me how to fly and I became a rocket scientist,” said the scientist.
