Beyond 2020

India 2020 is about to become a reality. Are we ready? In 1998 Dr Kalam and Y.S. Rajan published the now iconic India 2020 a vision document for the new millennium that charted how India could become one of the top five economic powers in the world by 2020. Sixteen years later as the year 2020 approaches it is time to take stock of how much India has achieved and what lies ahead. In many ways India's growth story in the twenty-first century has been hamstrung by missed opportunities and slowdowns in project execution but it has also been marked by new opportunities and emerging technologies that make faster and more inclusive growth viable. A renewed policy focus is now needed for agriculture manufacturing mining the chemicals industry health care and infrastructure to invigorate these sectors and boost economic growth argue Kalam and Rajan. Alongside education job creation emerging technologies biodiversity waste management national security and the knowledge economy are some of the other vital areas that we need to build on as we look beyond 2020. India can still make it to the list of developed nations in a decade. Beyond 2020 provides an action plan for that transformation. About the Author Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (1931-2015) was President of India and one of India's most distinguished scientists. He was responsible for the development of India's first satellite launch vehicle the SLV-3 development and operationalization of strategic missiles and their weaponization and for building indigenous capability in critical technologies. As chairman of the Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) he guided a number of technology projects and missions to take India into the twenty-first century. The document on Technology Vision 2020 is a blueprint to make India a developed country. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam held various positions in ISRO and DRDO and became principal scientific adviser to the Government of India holding the rank of a cabinet minister. He has the unique honour of receiving honorary doctorates from thirty universities and the country's three highest civilian honours Padma Bhushan (1981) Padma Vibhushan (1990) and Bharat Ratna (1997). He had a short stint as professor of technology and societal transformation at Anna University Chennai and met over 100000 high school students throughout the country.Yagnaswami Sundara Rajan is a well-recognized authority and a thought leader on technology development business management and society linkages. He held various positions of responsibility related to science and technology between 1988 and 2002 and has shaped key policies and implemented several successful R&D projects with industry participation. He was responsible for creating a series of documents related to Technology Vision 2020. After a thirty-year stint with the government he joined the Confederation of Indian Industry in 1996 where he was principal adviser from 2004 to 2010. Currently an honorary distinguished professor at ISRO Bangalore he was awarded the Padma Shri in 2012.