I am delighted to know that the ‘K R Narayanan Oration’ instituted at the Australia South Asia Research Centre (ASARC) of The Australian National University during the visit to this center by my predecessor-in-office during 1994 has now become a regular feature of the Centre’s calendar and that eminent personalities from various fields of life have delivered these orations on topics of immediate relevance to India.
I am happy to note that ASARC is continuing with its high tradition of inviting those personalities who have made outstanding contributions in their sphere of work, which is relevant to India. It is in this light that I see the name of Professor Meghnad Desai of the London School of Economics who is delivering this year’s oration on ‘Democracy and Development: India 1947–2002’. Professor Desai needs no introduction. We are all aware of the intellectual prowess and the policy analytical framework, which he has brought to bear upon contemporary development economics and the related social sciences. Having seen the birth and the early days of independent India first hand, I am sure there can be no better person to walk the august audience through the first fifty years of our Independence and the working of our democracy and its institutions.
This will be an excellent opportunity for our friends in ASARC and in Australia at large to get to know about India’s experience of working a democracy after over two hundred years of subjugation under alien rule. We have identified five areas where India has a core competence for an integrated action for transforming India into a developed nation: 1) Agriculture and Food Processing — we have set a target of 360 million tons of food and agricultural production. Other areas of agriculture and agro food processing would bring prosperity to rural people and speed up economic growth; 2) Reliable and quality electric power for all parts of the country; 3) Education and Healthcare — we have seen, based on experience that education and healthcare are inter related; 4) Information and Communication Technology — this is one of our core competences. We believe this area can be used to promote education in remote areas and also to create national wealth; and 5) Strategic sectors — this area, fortunately, witnessed growth in nuclear technology, space technology and defence technology.
These five areas are closely inter-related and lead to national, food and economic security. A strong partnership among and between R&D academics, industry, business and the community as a whole with Government Departments and agencies will be essential to accomplish this vision. The key to success is in various forms of connectivity such as physical, electronic, knowledge, and economic. I am sure Professor Desai’s oration will also give the audience sufficient intellectual queries and knowledge. I wish the event all success
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
New Delhi 2002