Compile findings as part of 'Vision 2030': Kalam

Former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Friday asked IIM-Shillong students to compile their findings and suggestions on various topics as part of their "Vision 2030 for the Dimensions of Development in India".

"We (students) presented our views from a managerial perspective on the topics and explained how they envisioned the future of India's economy on various issues ranging from Climate Change, Robotics, Agriculture to Nanotechnology as part of 'Vision 2030 for the Dimensions of Development in India' to our former president (Kalam)," Ayushi Rohira, a student of Indian Institute of Management (IIM)-Shillong told IANS.

"He was impressed with our ideas and requested us to compile their findings and suggestions in a report that will be looked into and the most feasible solutions will be implemented," he added.

The "Missile Man", as Kalam is also known due to his background in aerospace engineering and his role in India's indigenous missile development, is one of the visiting faculty members at IIM-Shillong.

Kalam was here since Thursday delivering lectures under a series titled "Dimensions of National Development" and guiding students individually as well as in groups.

Another student, Yash Bhambhwani, said: "July 25, 2014 will go down in the history of IIM-Shillong as the day when young minds presented their views and recommendations for a prosperous world in 2030."

"The various facets that he (Kalam) talked about included a vision for the nation for 2030 ... He taught us that leaders of tomorrow must have the passion to transform their vision to actions," student Rohan Modi said.

The IIM here, named after former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, started in 2008 from a makeshift campus at a complex that was the erstwhile summer palace of the kings of Mayurbhanj in Odisha. The Meghalaya government has allotted a 120-acre plot on which work has begun for a state-of-the-art academic-cum-residential campus.