New Delhi: Indian Institute of Technology(IIT), Madras in collaboration with Taksha Institute (TI), Taksha Center for Smart Village Initiative (TCSVI), the U.S. and Global Indian Business Council, U.S is conducting the first Abdul Kalam Conference on ‘Sustainable Development at Sustainable Cost’ from 11-14 Jul.
IIT Madras is hosting this Conference as first of a biennial series as India grows towards 2030. The Conference is being held to work towards the late President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s project called ‘PURA’ (Providing Amenities in Rural Areas, as the first necessary step towards a Developed India).
With an aim to work towards Sustainable Growth, the Conference will bring together the components of advanced technological concepts, with the social scientists and administrators who attend to public policy, and the NGO people who know the daily realities in rural India and have experience in making steady, determined progress.
“Dr. Kalam had constituted 17 Task Teams with 500 members that worked for two years on his Vision 2020 for India and submitted a comprehensive set of recommendations to the Government of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1998. It encompassed all domains from water, energy, environment, economy, and employment, among others”, said V. Ponraj, former Scientific Advisor to Dr APJ Abdul Kalam while addressing the inauguration Session held on 11 July.
He further added that integrated actions for developed India by 2020 comprised ’10 pillars’ across many sectors. He hopes that students will help realize his vision.
Among the solutions that will be discussed during this Conference include modernizing farm economy modernized with efficient irrigation and weather-independent farming.
Highlighting the outcomes of this Conference, Dr Narayanan M. Komerath, TCSVI Advisor, and Conference Chair, Abdul Kalam Conference on ‘Sustainable Development at Sustainable Cost,’ said, “President APJ Abdul Kalam’s vision of PURA has become crucial to the future of India and the world. The purpose of this Conference is to consider how India can implement this vision of achieving sustainable development at a sustainable cost. We believe that there is a uniquely Indian opportunity to demonstrate this, and now is the right time for it”.
The Conference will observe the five working groups report which will revolve around Rural Energy Self-Reliance and Enterprise, Renewing Mother Earth, Reaching New Resources, Bridging Implementation to Reality, and Global Alliance for Wellness and Healthcare. Each group has participants, from international experts to young minds.
