660_thumb.docVIP

8th Bharat Ratna Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Lecture-2009 Space Technology Applications for Rural Development in India Dr. G. Madhavan Nair It gives me immense pleasure to be with you today at the Colloquium on ‘Grassroots Level Planning and Local Government Institutions in India’ organised by the Academy of Grassroots Studies and Research of India (AGRASRI). It is a great privilege and special honour for me to deliver the 8th Bharat Ratna Rajiv Gandhi Memorial lecture in this august gathering, which in the past was delivered by eminent personalities like Shri Mani Shanker Aiyar, Shri Shivraj Patil, Dr. Turlapaty Kutumba Rao, Prof. U.R. Rao, Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, Dr. R.A. Mashelkar and Dr. C. Rangarajan. I am also pleased to note that AGRASRI has been organising this annual event since 2002 to commemorate the contribution of our former Prime Minister, Bharat Ratna Shri Rajiv Gandhi, a great visionary with a passion for modern technology, who strongly advocated its use in all its facets, and take India to the 21st Century in a transformed manner. A quote from Rajiv Gandhi while addressing the joint session of the US congress and India is appropriate here: “I am young, and I too have a dream. I dream of an India - strong, independent, self-reliant and in the front-rank of the nations of the world in the service of mankind...” Rajiv Gandhi introduced India to modern science and technology, which he considered as the very essence of development. He said, ‘Freedom and racism cannot co-exist. Science and poverty cannot co-exist.’ He wanted Indian industry to develop to its fullest capacity. He laid great emphasis on the Green revolution and Yellow revolution which he looked upon as being extremely important for development of agriculture. It was Rajiv Gandhi who initiated the telecom revolution in the country, which has resulted in a massive increase in tele-density across the country. Today’s Information Technology boom in India is because of his prudence on the