Turning Points by A P J Abdul Kalam Read Free Book Online Page B

democratic nation.
    People are yearning for a lifestyle change by preserving the cultural heritage, values and ethos of the Indian civilization. Parliament can bring the smiles on their faces, by enacting appropriate policies, laws and facilitating societal transformation. We have been working with policies and procedures which are mostly based on mistrust. As a result, motivation and empowerment are dampened and suppressed, whereas the Indian people have shown enormous achievement when provided an environment of trust and working space.
    Parliament needs to mount a mission to identify and scrap the complex old laws and administrative procedures which are hindering a growth-oriented economy. This will give scope and a hope to a large section of the people who are honest to flower and flourish. India must move to a trust-based system and only the members of this great Parliament can bring about this change, I urged them.
    In order to succeed in our mission, the five key areas where India has a core competence for integrated action are: 1) Agriculture and food processing; 2) Education and health care; 3) Infrastructure: Reliable and quality electric power, good roads, and other infrastructure for all parts of the country; 4) Information and communication technology and; 5) Self-reliance in critical technologies.
    These five areas are closely inter-related and if developed in a coordinated way, will lead to food, economic and national security. One of the major missions within these five areas is the development of infrastructure for bringing rural prosperity through Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) by creating three connectivities, namelyphysical, electronic, and knowledge, leading to economic connectivity. The number of PURA clusters for the whole country is estimated to be 7,000.
    While we are happy that our economy is in an ascending phase and our GDP has been growing at as high as 9 per cent per annum, it is evident that the 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; (b) improvement in quality of life of the people, particularly those living below the poverty line; and (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 health care and employment potential, and ‘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 the absence of communal tensions. There should be progressive reduction in the number of people living below the poverty line leading to this number becoming near zero by 2020. All our efforts at improving the national economic performance should be guided by the National Prosperity Index of the nation at any point of time.
    How shall we realize this vision? What are the immediate steps that we need to take to realize this vision?
    My interaction with many of you and my understanding of the various central and state programmes, the initiatives of private and non-governmental organizations as well as the overwhelming desire of citizens to participate in national development gives me the confidence that our society is ready to work for these missions. May I suggest that you all work together to evolve two major initiatives:
    1)  To formulate an Energy Independence Bill: A three-dimensional approach towards energy which