India Vision; Dr Kalam and TIFAC
I suppose everyone is home quarantined at this moment, I am getting a good number of book recommendations and interesting articles to read. Today I'd like to share a few things (not a summary) about a unique book, India 2020 written by Dr. Abdul Kalam (and Y.S Rajan.)
This book is based on a document, Technology Vision 2020 published by TIFAC in 1996. TIFAC (Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council) is a governmental organization focussed on assessing the technology-related activities for India. In 1996, they have launched Technology Vision 2020 document about India's strengths to become a developed nation by the year 2020. Dr Abdul Kalam (with DR Y.S Rajan) in 1998 wrote an excellent book on how to turn this vision into a reality.
The way this book has written simply convince anyone to believe that India can achieve the developed nation status, it's not about our history or any sort of motivational stuff but it has excellent action plans on how to turn vision into reality; such as finding the problems, addressing the market potential; both domestic and exports, present and future scenarios, approaches, core competencies, strategic advantages, kinds of partnerships to make, organizations that can help, what we have missed, what we shouldn't miss... It is written with the help of dozens of people who are experts in their fields. Dr Kalam's view of a developed nation is not to dominate the world but to improve India's standard of living, lift 220 mn people out of poverty, create our own opportunities, and ignite the minds of our youth.
"Every aspiring entrepreneur must read this book"
It is one of the best books I've ever read; the stories, analysis, and vision are simply brilliant. Indian Express quoted "A book of dreams rooted in reality." Tribune quoted "This is no ordinary book, it should be in all libraries and on the desk of everyone who dreams about the future of India."
Living in 2020, now India is the world's 5th largest economy, 3rd largest in terms of PPP, shining in the startup space, lifted 271 mn people out of poverty... much more has improved/realised. Of course, there are some other sets of problems and challenges we have, so is TIFAC released another document, Technology vision 2035 showing the further actions to be taken. Don't forget to visit TIFAC's website and view the new documents.
A recent article on The Economic Times about India's growth
My advice to young Indian entrepreneurs (or any nation) who are looking for startup ideas, read this book first. Though it's two decades old, the framework is relevant even today. One harsh reality of start-ups is most of them fail, even harshly stated, 90% fail. Apart from great products, start-ups fail because of a lack of proper execution. This book, if viewed from that perspective, explains clearly without business jargons, how to execute an idea with reference to the Technology vision 2020 document. That part is very helpful to anyone.
"India is a nation of a billion people, A nation's progress depends upon how its people think. It is thoughts which are transformed into actions. India has to think as a nation of a billion people. Let the young minds blossom-full of thoughts, the thoughts of prosperity"
-India 2020
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The current outbreak (COVID-19) is disrupting the whole world and pose a tough challenge to all of us. First of all, let's all strive to flatten the curve by staying home and maintaining social distancing. Please stay safe and healthy and spare some time to the things that you always wished to do. Let's try to make this daunting circumstance into something positive.
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