Dr.Kalam's advice for modern Indian youth.

I am indeed delighted to participate in the lecture series organised by the Department of Administrative Reforms "The Ideas that have worked". I was thinking how I could interact with such a powerful team in front of me. It occurs to me that I will put forth some of my experiences, which I have, came through during my professional career and it will be mostly on personalities and events. Of course, in the beginning itself, I must mention to you that I had a rare privilege of working with three great scientific thinkers and fantastic human beings... Prof. Vikram Sarabhai, founder of space technology in India and a visionary; Prof. Satish Dhawan, former Chairman, ISRO, who gave to the country multiple missions like satellite communication and remote sensing and is a great thinker and teacher; and Prof. Brahm Prakash, Former Director of VSSC and the father of nuclear material in India, who in the later years shaped launch vehicle technology. They were responsible for unifying multiple technologies with management and lead successfully satellite and launch vehicle programmes. Above all they provided many scientific and technological leaders to the country. We all also learnt from these great three, management with nobility. They created together a reliable and efficient leaderhsip in multiple field of science, technology and management. With this background let me sequence my thoughts and find a topic. Throughout my talk, you will see the umbilical chord of my career connected to this great Trinity.

Youth meet

Recently, I was addressing a Youth meet of India at Ahmedabad. About 3000 youth from all over the country were participating. Of course my aim was to communicate to them the importance of science and technology to the young people and to attract them towards further education in science and also a career in science and technology. At the end of the address one girl who is in the 10+2 came to me with certain hesitation and said " Uncle, Can I ask a question to you?, I said go ahead Lady. She said, I have an elder brother studying in USA, he came home last summer and almost sang a song of USA. I asked the young girl what is the song, She said, my brother says, "America is beautiful, America is rich, America is clean and they are hard working. Even Indians who go to USA become hard working and rich". Please tell me uncle, 'when can I sing a song of India'. Friends, hence, the topic I have selected to discuss with you is "When I can sing a song of India" . Let us jointly work to make atleast our growing children sing the song of India.

Dream to action: India launches its satellite launch vehicle

I was appointed as the Project Director of SLV-3 after nearly 10 years of work in space centre in 1973. This was the first important assignment at the VSSC. As it called for, India building satellite launch vehicles to put satellites in the lower earth orbit. The choice of the Project Director was a big event in the ISRO, it is a prestigious appointment with full of challenges accompanied by hard work, pains and finally success. There was tremendous competition for this position. Prof. Brahm Prakash the then Director, VSSC selected me from among experienced highly foreign qualified and holding very senior scientific and managerial posts. Yet I was selected because I completed an important project, and showing performance in the meteorological rocket development. This winning of competition in the midst of eminent personalities led me to feel the weight and responsibility to work for it vigorously. With this environment we were also able to attract excellent scientists, technologists, managers because the mission was challenging. Prof. Brahm Prakash helped me in the flow of multiple technologies from not only from VSSC also from ISRO Satellite centre and SHAR Space Centre.

The First Challenge

I would like to quickly come to the event, which will be important for the subject of discussion today. On 10th August 1979, the first SLV-3 experiemental launch planned to take-off at 1500 hrs . I was the Mission Director and along with a 50 member strong team within the SHAR Control Centre with 6 specialists to assist me in critical decision making before take off. The automated computer count stopped indicating a possible anomaly in the propulsion system. My specialist team saw at the display that in the second stage of flight the pressure dropped in the reaction control system oxidiser tank that provides the 3 axis altitude control after the first stage rocket is separated. The specialist team advised me to go ahead with the count down ignoring the pressure drop as they felt that propellant stored was sufficient enough to last for twice the flight duration, I was advised to go ahead with the launch. I concurred and pushed the computer button to the launch sequence

At T-0 the SLV-3 took off beautifully. The first stage had given predicted thrust and altitude and velocity needed at given altitude. The second stage initiated as per the tele data, but within a few seconds we witnessed the second stage and third stage and the satellite got caught into a tumbling motion and we lost the flight to the Bay of Bengal. It was 7 am in the morning. The whole team inspite of all its day and night hard work and sweat they were busy in collecting the data and was trying to establish the reason for the flight failure Meanwhile, I was called by Prof Satish Dhavan to attend a press conference. Before the press conference, Prof. Satish Dhawan told me he is going to handle the situation and I should be present with many of the senior scientists and technologists. The press conference room was full with media. There was gloom , many questions were posed, some very powerful, thoughtful and also criticisms. Prof Satish Dhawan, announced " Friends, today we had our first Satellite launch vehicle to put satellite in the orbit, we could not succeed. It is our first mission of proving multiple technologies in satellite and satellite launch vehicles. In many technologies we have succeeded and a few more we have to succeed, above all I realise my team members has to be given all the technological support. I am going to do that and the next mission will succeed. Subsequently, a failure analysis board was formed to establish the cause.

Now I will move to the second mission of SLV-3 that took place on 18th July 1980, it was 6.30 in the morning. The whole nation's attention was towards the SHAR launch complex and the control centre. The mission team were busy and computer took over the flight sequence from T-4 minutes. At T-0 the flight took off text book trajectory we were witnessing. After nearly 600 secs of the flight I realised every stage has given the required velocity including the 4 th stage. I made an announcement, "Mission Director calling all stations. The SLV-3 has given the required velocity and right altitude to put Rohini satellite in the orbit. Our down range stations and global stations will get the orbit satellite beam the required data within an hour". There was a thunderous applause from all the stations and visitors gallery. The most important thing happened then. Prof Satish Dhawan asked me to handle the press conference with our team members. The message I would like to convey is, " When success comes in after hard work the leader should give the credit of the success to the team members. When failure comes the leaders should absorb the failures and protect the team members". I could not get this beautiful, technological education of failure management in any of the text books written by any of the Harvard or any of the management institutes at that time. I would like to say particularly to this audience, since we will be managing hundreds of persons, dealing with a challenging task : There will be failure in a system, failure in a project, failure in the procurement action or failure in the administrative action even failure in the political system. It is vital to protect the team immediately after a failure from the onslaught effect of failures. Equally we should celebrate success of individuals and team. About us, Mahatma Gandhi has said in his autobiography; " it is always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honoured by the humiliation of their fellow men". A prophetic saying, it is.

Three Technological Events

I would like to share with you certain experiences from the events I have participated recently. This happened in a year's period. On 11th May 98 the Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission Dr R Chidambaram and myself and some of our team members were working for the results of the underground nuclear three tests followed by another two. We were at very close to the test site and the countdown was progressing. At T-5 seconds and hundreds of parameters from instrumentation were displayed. The mission was to take place in a few seconds. At T-0, we witnessed the whole earth shrugged and thundered in front of us and all around. We saw part of the earth raising. What a powerful energy India generated through nuclear weapons?. This successful mission was the great partnership of DAE and DRDO. Self-reliant technology made the nation to become a nuclear weapon state. The idea to the event, it was indeed weaponisation mission completion. India can do it.

The second event is about a missile system. On 11th April 1999, the AGNI-II took off with computer command from the beautiful island range. 600 parameters from the missile were monitored in real time through a series of radars, telemetry stations and ship borne instrumentations networked with our own communication satellites. The AGNI with its payload reached with close accuracy on the target 2000 kms away. Also an Island Mission Range was born. The partnership of DRDO labs with academic institutions and industries brought this important success and it is another triumph for self reliance, inspite of the technology denials.

Another event is about India's rocket technology. It reached its prime when the ISRO launched successfully the operational Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle on 26 May 99. The PSLV that has the third largest booster in the world, has become a cost-effective launch vehicle, and above all the ISRO reached a stage of integrating its own satellite IRS, a German and a South Korean satellites in that launch. India can compete in the launch vehicle services for satellite launching for other countries. This is the result of a great vision of self-reliance and sustained hardwork of ISRO and multiple institutions and industries.

These three events demonstrate that India has the capability to achieve a higher level of technological goals in spite of technology denials and control regimes. It means, if we have mission oriented programmes with leadership and political commitment, we will achieve these goals, however difficult they are. Can India bring technology to make impossible, possible.

If you scan the time from green revolution onwards, there have been successes in other commercial sector also. We are aware the green revolution made India self sufficient. The pharma sector, not only meeting domestic demands, but also play a major competitive role in the international market. Some of the industries have competitive strengths in automobile products and also some areas of textiles. Ofcourse, in software products we have substantive presence in the world. Many foreign companies are also happy to source Indian industries and intellectual capabilities . I am also aware of a number of small industries who show technological innovations. If we network right inputs in correct time, we can multiply such industrial "tribes" manifold.

It was indeed a great experience working with Prof Vikram Sarabhai from 1963-1971. At that time, I was an young engineer progressing multiple task of composite technology and explosive systems, rocket engineering systems at Thiruvananthapuram Space centre. Prof Sarabhai unfurled the vision for space programme in 1970, India primarily should build its own satellite launch vehicles and launch from Indian soil with remote sensing at sun synchronous orbit and communication satellite in the geo synchronous orbit.Today, almost his vision has been realised in all and India has operationalised Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles and this year will achieve GSLV capability. ISRO has also operationalised IRS and INSAT satellite system.

One personal experience I would like to share with you in conjunction with Prof Sarabhai's vision for space programmes. Design project of India's first satellite launch vehicle was approved. Design of each stage of rocket, heat shield , guidance system was given to selected project leaders. I was given the 4th stage SLV-3, that is upper stage rocket to give final velocity to put Rohini into orbit. The 4th stage SLV, uses an apogee motor, it should give the maximum thrust with minimum weight condition. It has critical technology. Hence, it was made out of composite structures which gives light weight. It is in early 1969 I remember, I received a call from Prof Sarabhai from Ahmedabad stating that he will be visiting Trivandrum along with Prof. Curien, President of a French Space organisation. I was asked to give a presentation about the 4 th stage to Prof Curien's team. When the presentation by my team was over, we realised that SLV-3 4th stage is also being considered for a French 4th stage launch vehicle 'Diamont' P-4 and French Organisation was looking for an apogee rocket motor nearly double the propellant weight and also size of the stage what we had designed.

A decision was taken in the same meeting that SLV's fourth stage should be reconfigured to match and suit both French satellite launch vehicles and Indian launch vehicles. I would like to give the picture of the status at that time of our rocket technology. It was in the drawing board and of design status. Here is a visionary whose dream that Indian scientists will build an upper stage rocket system compatible both for Indian and French satellite launch vehicle system. What a confidence he put on the Indian scientific community? A decision was taken that this upper stage has to be designed and developed. This event was remarkable and motivating for us. We went on full swing. A series of reviews took place between the two teams. The 4th stage graduated from drawing board to developing stage. Then in 1971 Prof Sarabhai passed away at the same time the Diamont P-4 programme was called off and to be reconfigured in future. When the 4 th stage was developed and series of tests were going on a new requirement appeared in the horizon that is India building small communication satellites to be integrated as one of the piggy back satellite in the Ariane programmes (European Space Launch Programme). For our Indian Apple programme that is communication satellite – the SLV-3 4 th stage exactly fitted and we flew in 1980s integrated in the European space launch from French Guiana Kourou. The vision seeded in 1969 by Prof Vikhram Sarabhai was indeed realised when the apple satellite started transmitting a communication to Indian earth stations. This gives some insight of a visionary with committed scientific and support, we can realise the vision. Even we can built our rockets can be flown in foreign soil. This achievement triggered rocket technologists in the country .

Recently, there was a function in Chennai organised by the Manipal Academy of Higher Education to felicitate 3 personalities. They were Sri C Subramaniam for his vision for agriculture and Shri N A Palkiwala for his work on social justice and myself for Specific science and technology area. What I witnessed in this meeting was, Mr C Subramaniam who is 90 + and who spearheaded the green revolution in 1960s, was putforth planning a second green revolution and said he will establish a National Agro Foundation based on the experience of success of first green revolution. Developing hybrid seed backed by scientific and agriculture packages.He unfurled second green revolution with a strategy for adoption of small and marginal farmers must be introduced entrusted with high value products to labs for soil testing and provide access to information on weather and markets. The Foundation aims at bringing a million farmers under the scheme. For this he has enlisted a top agrilcuture consultancies and managers and technologists for promoting this foundation. I was really inspired to be with him and his unfurling concept of soil testing and marketing fertilizers of seed and water management and finally the crop to marketing. This meeting with him, I found I must share with you here as a person of young and old have to get inspired to build the developed India.

Second Vision for the Nation

After 50 years of progress, the aspirations are mounting that India should become a developed country. This is the second vision for the nation. How we can prepare ourselves to this challenge? To become a developed India, the essential needs are:
(a) India has to be economically and commercially powerful, at least to be one of the six top nations in terms of size of the economy. Our target should be a GDP growth of 9 -11% annually and that the people below poverty line to be reduced to 10%.
(b) near self-reliance in defence needs of weapon, equipment with no umbilical attached to any outside world.
(c) India should have a right place in world forums.
Technology Vision 2020 is a pathway to realise this cherished mission. The Technology Vision 2020 consisted of 17 technology packages in the core sectors such as agriculture and food, healthcare, infrastructure and strategic industries. The Task Teams with nearly 500 experts of our country worked for two years, deliberated national status of various branches of national development and generated 35 documents detailing the steps to be taken for creating wealth for the nation and the well being of our people. "Technology" is the most vital key for achieving the goals. The vision deals with agro food processing, food and agriculture, health -care, electric power, civil aviation, waterways, engineering industries, life sciences and bio-technology, strategic industries and materials and processing. There is a tremendous link between each technology package.

font face="courier" color="green" size="3">Five Mega Projects to transform the nation to Developed Country

We have identified five areas where India has a core competence for an integrated action.
(1) Agriculture and food processing – we have to put 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 the economic growth.

(2) Reliable and quality electric power for all parts of the country.

3) Education and Healthcare – we have seen, based on the experience, education and healthcare are interrelated. For example, Kerala with education and better healthcare can bring down the population growth and provide improvements in quality of life of the people. Similarly, in Tamil Nadu also we have seen the downward growth of population resulting from a unique system of "mid-day meal" coupled with education. Studies about Andhra Pradesh also have different facets. These experiences, we feel, should be taken and spread in big states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Beginning of agricultural prosperity through better yields in these States will help this process.

(4) Information Technology – This is one of our core competence. We believe, this area can be used to promote education in remote areas and also to create national wealth. (5) Strategic sectors – This area, fortunately, witnessed the growth in nuclear technology, space technology and defence technology.

These five areas are closely inter-related and lead to national, food, economic and security. A strong partnership among the R&D, academy, Industry and the community as a whole with the Government departments will be essential to accomplish the vision.

In the Budget of 2000-2001, I am delighted to say that the Finance Minister announced certain budget provision for Vision 2020. I am sure, ignited minds will generate action. India will be transformed into a developed India before the year 2020.

Conclusion: Results from Experiences

Having shared some ideas that have worked, I was wondering about how to conclude with this enlightened gathering of decision makers and sensors of the society. Can we derive a message from our successes and shortcomings?
Yesterday, I received a phone call from a girl hailing from Maharashtra. An IAS aspirant from a very poor family, this girl was supported by her teacher to travel to Delhi. She borrowed two decent dresses for the visit and made a gruelling search to locate a distant relative where she could get shelter. What made her to call me? She said she read the Marathi translation of my book 'Wings of Fire' that dared her to dream and solace and strength to endure her struggle. I felt satisfied in the sense that a few souls could identify themselves with book. They find my life resonating with their own. Poverty is a curse. Forty percent of our people live below poverty line and unless our GDP gallops to double digits, we will remain a land of isolated islands of prosperity and affluence in an ocean of misery and hardships.
What can change the present cast where we appeared to have been trapped as a society. Technology is the only tool that can free us from our shackles – both physical and psychological. The advent of information technology can be seen across the entire cross-section of our lives. Similar spread of technological transformation is needed in the area of healthcare and value-added production. This is the only way to become a developed nation. Fortunately we have all components of technology to succeed – people, material, skills, infrastructure. The time has come when we come out from our mindset of a suffering civilization and strive for our destiny to be a developed nation. There is no need for the Peacock to turn in to an ostrich. The rhythm and harmony that signifies a song and the grace of a peacock that goes with that is something that is so innate and natural of India. It has to be preserved in to our social fabric and the benefits of the technology must percolate down to the lowest strata of the Society to change. This is the idea that seems to be knocking on our door. Why don't we open it?

Empower the Leader

I still remember after selecting me as the Project Director, Chairman ISRO stated, "I will now on work for the Project Director." Hence the whole organization works for the Project Director. It remained true for the Missile Project too. During the Missile Development Programme a new generation of team leaders emerged – Project Directors, Technology Directors,System Managers, Group Heads. These young scientists were made explicitly responsible and empowered to develop missile systems in a multi-organizational environment where traditional boss-subordinate hierarchy will not work. These leaders had to deal with officials much older and experienced in their respective fields. We instill in them full financial and administrative authority to take and implement decisions. They would chair the Project Management and Design Review meetings and I would join them as a member, as and when required. While this arrangement led to very fast progress, it also made these young leaders butt of envy and target of uncharitable criticism of not only their peers and subordinates but also superiors. After nearly two decades, I can very confidently tell you that unless you identify a person, declare him a leader, empower him, and shield him until he delivers, things will not move much differently. The fear psychosis of big brother is watching, peers-leg-pulling, and adverse publicity would only lead to more intrigue and shell locking. It would create a generation of play-safe, puritans rather than mission driven zealots for who end drives means. Hence empower the leader and protect him while he is facing adversity. Stand by him in the difficult times

Friends, I shared with you a few thoughts that have worked. Transformation of thoughts into action and subsequently as results demanded team work and courage to combat pain of failures.