Five ways APJ Abdul Kalam wanted to change India

To battle corruption to make India the next big thing, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam's initiatives involved the youth at almost every step of the way. He launched a Facebook page to share inspiring stories and another initiative to help children give back to, instead of take from society. He was the inspiration for a programme which makes the study of science immensely interesting. And as the youth (or something like it), we can only hope that one day we can realise his biggest vision - the vision he had for India in 2020.

1. The What Can I Give movement

In 2012, Dr Kalam launched the self-governed 'What Can I Give Movement’ to spread the message and idea of 'giving' among the youth. And the movement strived to replace the attitude of greed and corruption that comes from the thought, "what can I take" with an attitude eponymous with the initiative.

2. Billion Beats

Dr Kalam's epaper Billion Beats, in circulation since 2007, was later converted into a Facebook page on which Dr Kalam shared his interactions with achievers and their success stories. He also put forth his thoughts on making India a developed nation before the year 2020.

3. India Vision 2020

This plan, initially a a document prepared by the Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) of India's Department of Science and Technology under the chairmanship of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was later elaborated on in his book wherein he recognised five core areas "for integrated action to double the growth rate of GDP" in India. These five areas were agriculture, infrastructure, education and healthcare, information and communication technologies, and Critical technologies and strategic industries.

4. PURA

The Provision of Urban Amenities to Rural Areas programme was a programme proposed by Dr Kalam wherein the aim was to create economic opportunities outside cities and reverse the rural-urban migration. The idea was to achieve this by building roads, a better network of electronic and other communication and establishing technical and professional institutions in villages.

5. Igniting Minds

The programme, named after Dr Kalam's bestseller, aimed to connect over one lakh Indian students to scientists, technocrats and leaders to make education in science more interesting. Started by Vijnana Bharti, Igniting Minds made the leaders of the Indian scientific community digitally available for interactions, one of whom, was missile man, Dr Kalam.