A Manifesto for Change: A Sequel to India 2020

In 1998, a book was published that was surprisingly ahead of its times. It was called India 2020 and proposed that India could soon be one of the top five economies of the world. The nation had set off a series of nuclear tests and was facing worldwide sanctions. A new government had taken charge, and the economy was facing a tough time. It was not the best of times to predict that India had it in her to get on the fast track to development. The vision presented in the book would go on to inspire, directly or indirectly, many sectors of the economy to work for and achieve high growth. The book has since sold hundreds of thousands of copies. In A Manifesto for Change, its author A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, writing with co-author V. Ponraj, offers a sequel. As focused then as now on his dream of a developed India by 2020, the eleventh President of India examines what we need to get right to accomplish that essential goal: harnessing the stupendous energy of our youth to contribute to growth, a united Parliament that makes full use of its time for constructive debate and rises above petty party politics to achieve the larger national vision, and a plan of action that looks at development from the grassroots to giant strides in infrastructure and bridging the urban-rural disparity. It is time to leave behind the politics of antagonism and disruption behind, he suggests. As reward: a developed India as befits this beautiful land.

About the Author :
AVUL PAKIR JAINULABDEEN ABDUL KALAM was the eleventh President of India, from 2002 to 2007. He is a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, the Padma Vibhushan and the nation's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna. Born in 1931 in Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, Dr Kalam studied aeronautical engineering at the Madras Institute of Technology. He played a key role in the development of India's first satellite launch vehicle, the SLV-3; in the building and operationalization of India's strategic missile systems; and in the 1998 nuclear tests. As an elder statesman, he remains in the public eye for his role in offering counsel, reaching out to people and building bridges across religious and social divides. Dr Kalam's focus stays on transforming India into a developed nation by 2020 and to this end he continues to travel across the country for his teaching assignments at IITs and IIMs, to address conferences and to meet students and people from all walks of life. V. PONRAJ is a scientist from ADA (Aeronautical Development Agency), DRDO, Bangalore. He worked with Dr Kalam as an advisor on science and technology and public policy from 2007 to 2014. He was the director (technology interface) at the President's Secretariat from 2003 to 2007. He has worked closely on developed India missions pioneered by Dr Kalam and is presently working on a Ph.D.