India should aim at energy independence by 2030: Kalam

‘TAPMI should try to implement PURA model in one village in the district’

The former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam presenting a cheque of Rs. 65,000 toTitan Best Student Jacqueline Simons during the 28th annual convocation ofT.A. Pai Management Institute in Manipal on Wednesday. R.C. Natarajan,Institute Director (Centre) is also seen.

The former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on Wednesday said that the country should aim at energy independence by 2030. He was delivering the convocation address at the 28th convocation of T.A. Pai Management Institute (TAPMI), here.

Dr. Kalam said that instead of energy security, the country should aim at energy independence. Renewable sources of energy, including solar power and wind power, should be given priority. The potential of solar energy should be tapped to its optimum in the country.

Emphasizing on the Provision of Urban Amenities to Rural Areas (PURA) model to give a fillip to development in the country, Dr. Kalam said that there were 6 lakh villages in the country.

This meant that there was a requirement of 7,000 PURAs in the country. It was essential to provide better connectivity to rural areas as nearly 70 per cent of people lived there.

Governance in the country should be transparent and corruption-free, he said. Instead of complaining of corruption, people should first make their homes corruption free. This would go a long way in curbing corruption. The country should have a leadership, which it should be proud of.

Vision for rural areas

Any vision of prosperity should take into account the rural areas. Non-farm revenue in rural areas should be increased. For this, dairy farming, sericulture and other such enterprises should be encouraged in rural areas, he said.

Management systems should reach the underprivileged sections of society. “Management students should try to teach the children belonging to the underprivileged classes in the rural areas. TAPMI should try to implement the PURA model in one of the villages in the district,” he said.

To the new graduates, Dr. Kalam said: “You should have a clear aim of what you wanted to be in the future. I am sure you will do something different and history will remember you.”

Jacqueline Simons received the TAPMI Titan Best Student Award from Dr. Kalam on the occasion. She also received a cheque of Rs. 65,000.

H.S. Ballal, Pro Chancellor of Manipal University, welcomed the gathering. R.C. Natarajan, Director of TAPMI, read the report. Ramdas Pai, Chancellor of Manipal University, was present.