The Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Centre for Policy Research and Analysis of IIM Shillong organised the 2022 edition of the eponymous annual lecture series to commemorate the seventh death anniversary of the late former President of India.
Kalam died suddenly in Shillong on July 17, 2015 while on a visit to deliver a lecture at IIM Shillong.
Former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), AS Kiran Kumar, and director of the North Eastern Space Application Centre, SP Aggarwal, were present, via the online mode, to pay homage to Kalam.
Kumar delivered a lecture on the topic ‘ISRO’s Space Journey: A Saga of Innovation and Delivery’ said, “Kalam worked and contributed to the development of the Indian Space Research Organisation. He believed in the capability of science and technology to address the specific problems the country faces. He took up a drive to visit a range of places to meet and inspire almost one crore students across the country. During his interaction with the students, he used to share about his work and the ways India needs to grapple with the problems.”
Kumar also said that Kalam had always wanted and encouraged individuals to be self-reliant and outlined his vision whereby India needed to develop core competencies, including agriculture and food processing; education and healthcare; information and communications technology; infrastructure; dependable and high-quality electricity; surface transportation for the entire nation; and self-reliance in key technologies.
