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10 Missions For AP Development - President Abdul Kalam

President of India Abdul Kalam has given a historical speech to The Members Of The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly. He concluded the speech by identifying the following 10 immediate missions that need to be accomplished.

AGRICULTURE

Mission I

It is essential to transform at least 50% of the 21 lakh hectare wasteland available into productive land for increasing the availability of drinking water, agro produce and agro forestry using satellite imagery with the co-operation of NRSA / ISRO.

Mission II

13.8% of Andhra Pradesh cultivable land area is under cotton cultivation. The State may plan to double the productivity of cotton using integrated farming techniques with a system oriented approach starting with soil characterization, matching the cotton seed to soil, water, fertilizer management, proper application of fertilizer and pesticide during the seeding and growth process in the right season and proper irrigation techniques to enhance the productivity of cotton. The technology and know-how implemented by the farmers of Nava Pind in Punjab under the guidance of the Oswal Group may be taken as an example. The increase in production and reduction in per hectare expenditure can enhance revenues to the farmers to an extent of Rs. 3000 crore per year.

Mission III

Andhra Pradesh has endowed with 5 or 6 types of bio-climates. I suggest that agricultural scientists and bio-technologists work together and promote the farming of herbal plants in the region which can be used by the pharmaceutical industry located in Andhra Pradesh as an input for their drug design and development.

Mission IV

The Jatropha plant has been identified as a petro crop. It can be used as a bio-fuel, medicine, dye and organic manure. This cash crop plant can be grown in the sandy, saline and rocky regions of Andhra Pradesh for providing additional revenue to farmers. AP is already planning for the Joint-Venture for Bio-fuel production.

Mission V

AP may plan to commission two 100 mega watt capacity solar photovoltaic plants at an approximate cost of Rs. 1500 crore and feed the energy into the state grid in day time. The solar power can also be used for desalination of sea water.

Mission VI

Two power plants with 6 Mega Watt capacities based on solid municipal waste technology have been established at Hyderabad and Vijayawada by two entrepreneurs. The technology was developed by TIFAC (Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council). There is a need to replicate this model in many parts of Andhra Pradesh through private, public partnership. This would provide a solution to the energy problem and also keep the environment clean.

Mission VII

Nalgonda and Ranga Reddy districts of Andhra Pradesh have a problem of high fluoride content in the water. I suggest undertaking of an integrated solution for providing potable drinking water and non-saline irrigation water using low cost de-fluoridation process and also intensive rainwater harvesting.

Mission VIII

The government has provided a five-year tax holiday for corporate hospitals commissioned in rural areas. The state government can provide land at concessional rates or on long lease for establishing a large number of corporate hospitals in rural areas of the State by the private sector. This would also attract a large number of people from South East Asia and the West Asian countries for medical tourism.

Mission IX

It is essential to install a Doppler weather radar network with the support of DST and ISRO for modeling and predicting the course of the cyclones in the coastal area using super computers. DST has already installed the three Doppler radars. Many more needs to be added to cover the east and west coast. This will enable provision of timely warning to residents in the affected area leading to prevention of loss of life and minimum damage to property. Satellite based digital radio offers new possibility in issuing timely warning to fishermen in the sea.

Mission X

The Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh consists of 295 Members and there are 42 Members of Parliament from the state. In a five year period the total allocation of funds for the members will be about Rs. 2000 crores. This fund is in your hands. I would recommend these funds may be deployed for augmenting schools, classrooms and facilities required for enhancing school education in the rural state, facilitating the teaching of good teachers to reach all students of the State and the training of teachers through tele-education, particularly in rural areas.

Read the whole speech @ President of India : Speech / Lecture : Details