Part 19 (1/2)

also affected rural life styles, sometimes irrerversibly . Modern fertiliser and agro chemicals based high yield agriculture ,health 266.

services, electricity ,radio,television ,bus services, agro machineryand plastic footwear are a few examples.However ,there has 267.

been an asymmetry between the rural and urban areas.Since urban areas are centres of industrial and business activities and 268.

also seats of political power, many facilities for better life are first established there. The economies of scale would also be 269.

citied as being influential in people taking such decisions .Wealth begets wealth .Higher economic activity begets more 270.

economic activites and therefore more Many underempolyed persons move to the other cities in search of 271.

a better life.Per se this is not bad.But on the other handattentions given to modern facilities in the rural areas is poor.

272.

A good doctor would not like to stay in a village, nor would agood teacher .The asyemmtry that is thus created takes a toll 273.

on the cities as well.Most cities are becoming unlivable asabout 50 per cent of their inhabitants live in slums or near 237.

274.

slum conditions, or live so far away that tire themselves in commuting .A number of studies have shown that beyond a size,it becomes much costlier to provide services to the increasing population in a city than to establish a new city!

The new cities need not be brand new.Let us look at the nature of modern Industries and the emerging scenario.The ma.s.s production of yesteryears is only confined to a few areas.It is possible to have a number of decentralized industries which maintain world cla.s.s levels and become part of a globally competive industry have made global connectivity instantaneous.

Therefore it is possible to connect cl.u.s.ters of villages through a nearly Annular ring of roads ,with traffic designed in such a way that movement from one Village to another can be quick and convenient .This helps in many ways .Many agro Industries ,services industries and even high tech concerns can be relocated in such Villages by moving a few government offices and providing special concessions for industries .Once the process starts,economic activities will take care of the rest.These cl.u.s.ters have to be managed in an imaginative fas.h.i.+ons and intelligentia Which will move in .The vision includes the building of many such cl.u.s.ters all Over the India a few cl.u.s.ters.

Indian technology and foreign claimants One aspect which is interesting is how,whenever India achieves something that is Commendable,the developed nations tend to trace it to some knowhow ,equipments Or manpower that was provided by the `west.For instance ,in July 1980,when we Launched our first satillete launch vehicle and put the Rohini satellite into orbit ,India Became one of four nations to have a satellite launch facility.But within a week ,a news item originated from the USA saying that I had a few months trannings at NASA .In germany they claimed that the wind tunnel test was carried out in their facility ,and so they had indirectly enabled the launch.

When we heard the news about the reaction of the western scientists, technologists and the press the general Response of my team of scientists and technologists at Vikram Sarabhai s.p.a.ce Center (VSSC) ,Trivandrum was one of the great amus.e.m.e.nt .We knew that thousands of scientists ,engineers and staff had worked on the project from the drawing board to the development stage and right through till the 238.

launch .The technology was completely indigenous .The SLV used proportional control systems with a sharing logic software .This was a first in the world Similarly ,we had made other innovation in comparison to any launch vehicle at that point of time .As for the Scout ,the American satiellite launch from which our technology was alleged to be lifted ,only the fifth launch of the Scout had proved successful.In the comparison ,our second ,third and fourth launches were all successful .This is a pointer to the technological strength of our nations .

Again , when I was involved in the Guided Missile programme and we successfully launched the Prithvi missile several times ,western press including some of our own a.n.a.lysis insisted that we were using a Russians technology . In fact ,Prithvi had a distinctive design ,using a particular gyro system with a uniquely configured software ,which n.o.body in the world had tried when the flight is in progress ,the drift can be monitored through the on board computer .It had other innovations too: the type of thrust termination is so innovatively configured that for a multiple payload ,multiple ranges can be achieved .Today ,Prithvi is comparable to any worldcla.s.s in payload capability .

Let us come now to a third ,very important milestone ,namely Agni in 1989 and it was successful.We have So far done three launches .Surprisingly ,again there were two claimants who wanted to take credit for the success.Germany said that their guided system which was used for scientific experiments in India had gone into the making of Agni .And the USA claimed again that my NASA training was responsible for Agni .Actually ,in Agni,there were innovations made in the complete reentry hypersonic flow was simulated in the Computational Fluid Dynamics in one of the best computers that we ourselves had designed.The reentry structure ,in fact ,has used a specially designed o material to withstand the 3500 C heat generated upon reentering the atmosphere .It is only with their technology ,that India can succeed. Recently two departments ,the Departments of Atomic Energy and the DRDO ,working in an excellent Partners.h.i.+p,tested several nuclear devices in Pokhran .Three tests were carried out simultaneously there were two More tests subsequently .We had excellent results ,well reported universally by nearly 125 seismic stations .This Indicates that has reached the stage of nuclear weaponization .We were extremely happy with our achievement .But the next day we found the western press alleging that Israeli technology had gone into the 239.

triggering system of the nuclear device.There was also the familiar accusation that the scientists and technicians who had visited the USA had helped India achieve this breakthrough .This was multiple innovation have gone into the nuclear technology and nuclear device testing area.

In all four of these cases,I was fortunate to be continuously involved directly or indirectly in various teams of ISRO ,DAEA and DRDO.I find myself asking why in spite of innovative and excellent design capabilities in India,an impressions is created by the that no one other than the developed nations can achieve such technological excellence .Just as there has been a racial element is entering into the technological arena too.Developed nations feel that only they are capable of developing certain types of aeros.p.a.ce ,missile and nuclear technology .But we should ignore this and go ahead with our technology development.

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Chapter 12.

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Realizing the Vision I have learnt to use the word 'impossible' with the greatest caution.

Wernher Von Braun A very high level committee ,working on a matter of vital importance for India ,once called a press conference to share their forthcoming recommendation with media persons .A young reporter got up and asked ,'We have seen or heard of many such reports .When will action be taken on them ?'The chairman of the committee gave an evasive reply.Then a member of the committee intervened ,'We generate many reports .There are many reporters like you to reports the news .Reports and reporters do we need action .

Somehow over the years ,we have developed a habit of giving low priority to actual action on the ground .Often people are keen on getting huge publicity in the newspapers or the electronic media ,while announcing their programmes or polices.Public memory is short .n.o.body bothers to ask whether something is being done to Implement them even after a year !Still ,there are a number of persons who do keep pus.h.i.+ng against heavy odds to do something concrete.Because of them ,there is some progress in our country .We would like to see that in the coming years actual achievements in the TIFAC Technology Vision 2020 reports can the country be geared up for action to realize the new vision for India 2020 ?We believe that it can.People may ask why we think will be action now ,when earlier there was a relative slack.The answer,we believe ,lies in appreciating that a large part of our population is young for them .Besides ,even those who had earlier worked for 'blocking' some initiatives would like to see an 'opening up'.The earlier system whereby all initiatives were left to a few departments in New Delhi has fast undergone a change .The licenepermit quota raj has been substantially dismantled .This has unleased a large amount entrepreneurial talent and adventurous spirit in India.Many younsters are prepared to explore new avenues of work and employment and not wait for a secure job in Government.The explosive growth in television ,thanks primarily to satellite communication ,exposes .We believe that a spate of actions would follow along the lines which will be described here.

A restatement of the vision 241.

Let us have a brief overview of the vision which we envisage for our people .

India should become a developed nation by 2020 .

A developed India means that India will be one of the five biggest economic powers ,having selfreliance in national security.Above all ,the nations will be have a standing in world economic and Policial for a.

To achieve this status ,several steps are to be taken in agriculture such as making eastern India a granary and increasing the use of hybrid rice ,as also for improving the other products.Environmental Considerations in agriculture gain attention .

Capitalize on the agricultural core strengths to establish a major value adding agro food Industry based on cereals,milk,fruits,and vegetables ,to generate domestic wealth .Also , Make India a major exporter of valueadded agrofood products .Agro food industry and distribution systems should increasingly productive and efficient agriculture.

A number of engineering industries and service businesses to grow around the agro food Sector .

India to capitalize on the vast mineral wealth to emerge as a major technological global power in various advanced and commercial materials :steel ,t.i.tanium,aluminium,rare earths.

Indian chemical industry to be transformed into a global technological innovator in clean Processes and speciality chemicals ,and new drugs and pharmaceuticals a major business Should be createdIndian marine resources are to be transformed into economic strength .

There is to be a resources of Indian engineering industry :machine tools,textiles ,foundry, 242.

electrical ,machinery ,and transport equipment .India is to become a net exporter of technology by 2010 in these areas and an important world leader in embodied software field of flexible manufacturing and intelligent manufacturing.

India should emerge as a global leader in the services sector with its vast and skilled human resources base being its core strength.The services will range from the simple to the most sophisticated ones using the emerging digital revolution.The services sector is not only to bea money spinner but will also employ a good proportion of our people moften in self skills to super to super skills .

While India needs to pay most attention to making her a developed country ,attention should also be paid to the strategic sectors.The confluence of civilian and defence technological is leading to a situation where most new technologies are basically 'dual use'

In nature .A carbon composite material can go into making a tennis racquet or a FRO capliper device for polioaffected patients and also for a missile system.A computer can do simulations for a civilian product ,for rapid prototyping or the suitability of market conditions for a future aircraft or weapon performance.These dual technologies' are closely guarded by the developed countries under the premise of nonproliferation of Nuclear weapons as well!These will lead to domestic and foreign business orders for Indian companies even when they are not necessarily for the use of ISRO,DRDO or the atomic Energy Departments .The value additions would be very high.To continue as an economic power ,therefore India has to master the strategic technologies as well .though in The short run they appear to be highcost technologies .Fortunately .Indian laboratories and industries have an excellent base in these technologies and have a.s.sumed a leading position globally in a number of areas of .Materials, electronics, propulsion, simulation, 243.

among others. India needs to further strengthen these areas with concrete missions focused on dual use capabilities. That is, to develop a generic technology common to defence while simultaneously developing multiple civilian applications on a commercial scale. Therefore, it is necessary to draw Indian industry, especially the private sector, into these hightech areas not merely for fabrication but for design, development, production, marketing and postsale services. India should also emerge as a major exporter of products and services resulting from its capabilities in high tech areas.

The health of all our people is vital even while we arepursuing the allround rapid growth of the economyand technological prowess. People's health leads to better economic and social progress. Many recent technological inventions are making it possible to reach health services to all. sensors and information technologies in particular, are making it possible for access of specialist attention to even remote areaspopularly called 'tele medicine' .India should attend to shortterm rapid action and emerge as a nation with excellent health service cover which would be an example health service cover which would be an example to the world.

In order to achieve the vision , several crucial actionsneed to be taken to ensure speedier growth ofinfrastructure: energy, quality electric power inparticular,roads, waterways, airways, telecommunication,ports, etc. Several shortterm measures and some unconventional steps need to be taken. The longtermaction should be aimed at providing worldcla.s.s facilitiesfor all parts of India.Rural connectivity is crucial evenin the short run if the boom in agriculture and agrofood sector is to be utilized fully.In addition ,the progress in information technologies is leading to the possibility of very advanced worldcla.s.s industries andbusinesses being established in a village.Highly creativeprojects in software, information technology, designand other crteative work can in fact be better done in a rural environment which has good facilities and good facilities and goodconnectivity.

The persons who live there should have accessto the latest information available globally if they have tobe creative and current. Such connectivity can be 244.

providedby electronic means even today. Thus, there is a truepossibility of many of our wellconnected rural areasbecoming worldcla.s.s centers of excellence and also making for a lot of valueadded exports or vigorous domesticbusiness, besides giving us food and other products whichnormally come from rural areas. There are also excellent possibilities that such wellconnected rural areas may behost to a number of biotechnology factories which willproduce valueadded natural products for sale globally.But all these are possible only with an excellent ruralconnectivity which means good roads, telecommunications and of course, quality electric power.Given the devolution of power to the panchayats, they ca.n.a.lso play a major role, with compet.i.tion as well ascooperation between the village panchayat enhancingperformance.Now, let us look at how this vision can be realized and who allWill have to propel it towards fulfillment.