Dubai, February 4: Corruption is a cancer-like situation engulfing India’s political-bureaucratic-judicial system, requiring an urgent ‘chemotherapy’, former Indian president Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said in an exclusive interview with Gulf News.
Stamping out corruption — which is causing pain and anguish among citizens — is one of the biggest challenges that India faces, as the country is poised to be a developed nation, he said. During his recent three-day visit to Dubai, he spoke to Gulf News on a wide range of topics. Below are the excerpts:
GULF NEWS: As a country poised to be a superpower, what are the three biggest challenges India faces and what are the possible solutions?
Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam: We are not aiming to be a superpower, but by 2020 India has to be transformed to an economically developed country by eradicating poverty that affects over 300 million people.
Water management is one of the main challenges. We have water bodies, but sometimes there are floods and at other times drought. Connecting them and forming a network of rivers is a possible solution.
Secondly, India has 600,000 villages and hence bridging the rural-urban divide is vital. Projects such as PURA (provide urban amenities in rural areas) could give physical, electronic and knowledge connectivity to lead them to prosperity.
Thirdly, establishing a corruption-free India is a major challenge. I propose a youth brigade as the solution. “I can do it. We can do it. India will do it”, should be the spirit.
–Agencies