Advantage India: From Challenge to Opportunity

A visionary’s bequest to the nation On the way from Delhi to Jaunpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh is the dusty town of Badshahpur. Even in this nondescript settlement, people receive money via mobile transfer from family members working in distant cities. There are computer training centres offering diploma courses in Bhojpuri, Hindi and English. Here is an example of India’s numerous remote towns that have skipped the stage of basic learning and landed straight into digital literacy as they strive to keep up with the times.

In his last book, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, writing with Srijan Pal Singh, draws upon examples ranging from entrepreneurship in places like Badshahpur to a sophisticated missile programme like Agni to show how it can be ‘Advantage India’ in the final lap of the journey to 2020–the landmark year by which he had envisioned the country could transform into an economic power. How can the new initiatives–such as Make in India, Swachh Bharat, smart cities and skill development for the youth–be used to unleash the country’s vast potential?

Advantage India offers the answer–a movement driven by every home and school to educate the new generation and give a fresh meaning to citizenship.