Nuclear deal beneficial to India - Kalam

Former President of India and leading scientist A P J Abdul Kalam has backed the Indo-US nuclear deal.

“Until our scientists set up thorium-based nuclear reactors from our thorium deposits, which are second largest in the world, we will require uranium to sustain our energy requirements. Hence, the nuclear deal with United States is important for India”, Kalam said while addressing an alumni meet at Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B) on Wednesday evening.

Kalam’s observations on the nuclear deal came even as the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre was tottering over differences on the Indo-US nuclear deal with the Left parties, which are its key allies.

Kalam also sought to issue a caution about the runaway trend in India’s power requirement, which is increasing at a phenomenal rate. The country’s power requirements could well increase to 400,000 MW from the existing 130,000 MW when the population crosses the 1.4 billion mark, he warned.

The former President spoke about harnessing solar and wind energy to meet the country’s power requirements. Solar and wind energy were important to India and pointed out that renewable energy sources can produce an estimated 65,000 MW of power by 2030.

Responding to a question on development in the face of environmental degradation, Kalam said emphasis should also be laid on production of bio-fuel. “With bio-fuel, we will be able to envision a future wherein cars can stop at bio-fuel gas stations and fill up ethanol or bio-fuel”, he said.

Kalam expressed hope that India could become economically developed by 2020 if the country had a sustainable GDP growth of 10 per cent and brought the inflation down to 5 per cent.

However, he said it was not enough to take GDP as a “marker of growth”. “Ideally, we will require a National Prosperity Index, which equals our GDP plus the percentage of 220 million people below poverty line that we are able to lift up every year”, Kalam said.