UNI
Ambur, Tamil Nadu, Sep 5: President A P J Abdul Kalam on Monday said India would soon compete with other nations in bringing nuclear materials from the moon to the earth.
India would send a 50-kg satellite to the moon by 2007 end to study its characteristics and geology. ''As the moon has got fantastic nuclear material to generate nuclear energy, there is big competition among nations to bring it to Earth. India will join the competition,'' he said during an interactive session with students at the centenary celebration of the Ambur Muslim Educational Society here.
He said in 50 to 100 years, Mars would become a destination for human habitation. And it would become a midpoint platform, he added.
On the need for nuclear armament, he said when India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru went to the United Nations in 1960, only the US and then Soviet Union had nuclear warheads. By 1990, the number of nuclear weapons rose to 10,000 and India had to join the nuclear regime in 1995 due to perceived threats from border nations.
Pointing out that India had a policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons and total disarmament, Dr Kalam said if every nation went for nuclear disarmament, India would also follow suit.
He said India would become an economic superpower by 2020, if the present GDP of eight per cent was increased to ten per cent. The number of people living below the poverty line had decreased from 260 million a decade ago to 220 million.
To a query on brain drain, the President said the country was producing three lakh engineering and one lakh medical and science graduates every year. About two crore Indians were spread across the globe either to study or make a living. Stating that the very policy of globalization was based on this, he said 'people will be going out and coming in. This will only add to the growth of the country.' To another question, Dr Kalam said the present judicial system was constantly improving. The Chief Justice of India had informed him that a 27-point plan had been drawn up to ensure speedy justice and avoid backlogging of cases.