The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu has stressed up on the need to bridge the urban rural divide to ensure uniform development of the country and rural India needs attention for development. He was addressing the third edition of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Summit on Innovation and Governance and gave away Kalam Innovation in Governance Awards 2019, here today.Shri Naidu said that giving equal access to resources, healthcare and education to everyone regardless of their social status would help the nation in bridging the divide. He urged upon the young generation to research and come up with new ideas and innovations and contribute to India’s growth story.The Vice President opined that every citizen must play a key role in achieving self-reliance for a globally competitive nation. Together, with sustainable efforts, we can realize this dream of New India, he added.Calling governance as key, performance as the only touchstone for real progress, Shri Naidu said that ideas have to be translated into tangible realities.
Opining that Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s name conjures up the visions of India that was firmly on a development trajectory, harness its intellectual, uses its cultural and spiritual capital to regain its rightful place in the comity of nations. The Vice President called up on the scientific community, researchers and innovators to use science and technology and innovations to change the lives of farmers. He wanted a special attention towards farming as most of the village economy relies on agriculture. The critical challenge is to deploy the best possible ideas in the innovation-led development of the rural areas of the nation – where 60 per cent of its population lives, he added.On this occasion, the Vice resident also started 75 new Kalam Digital Libraries that are aimed at serving as centers for no-cost digital based learning in schools and children observatories across India.The former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the DGDIA & DCIDS, Intelligence, Ministry of Defence, Lt. Gen. Amarjeet Singh Bedi, the Minister for Art & Culture, Tribal Affairs and Civil Supplies, Goa, Shri Govind Gaude, the Chief Secretary of Gujarat, Dr. Jagdip Narayan Singh and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.