"India has the potential to come out of this difficult situation because of its inherent strengths. The strengths are the purchasing power of 400 million middle class citizens and 600 million youth willing to take up challenging missions," he said at the 14th convocation of IIT, Guwahati.
Kalam said the country has achieved important feats in the field of science, technology and defence in the past few months like the successful launch of Agni V 5000-km range intercontinental ballistic missile, launch of the ingenuously developed RISAT satellite and the first flight of the naval light combat aircraft.
In the health sector there was a breakthrough in the development, production and deployment of drug for treatment of malaria in a shorter time and in shorter dosage by a private pharma company in partnership with the department of science and technology.
Turning to agriculture, Kalam said "Our farmers and scientists have indeed worked hard and produced a record 250 million tonnes of foodgrains this year, which is 18 million tonnes more than last year." MORE
