Exhorting Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) to participate in mission “Developed India 2020”, President APJ Abdul Kalam today unveiled the concept of a “World Knowledge Platform” aimed at integrating core competencies of partner countries to develop knowledge products.“This platform will enable joint design, development, cost-effective production and marketing of knowledge products in various domains based on core competence of partner nations to international market,” Kalam said delivering the valedictory address of the Fifth Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas today. Kalam said that based on his visits all over the country and his discussions with people from different walks of life, he was convinced that India could become a developed country by the year 2020.“We constitute one-sixth of the global population and the transformation that we do to one-sixth of the world will benefit the other population also. A great opportunity awaits you in providing your contribution to this great transformation,” the President said requesting PIOs to participate in this Developed India 2020 mission and to make it a reality by sharing their knowledge and experience gained over the years.Elaborating further, Kalam said that the “World Knowledge Platform” will take up the missions, in areas like energy, water, healthcare, food, knowledge products, automobile and capacity building. “The common element for all the missions, which I have discussed, is the availability of quality human resource. The 25 million people of Indian origin with experience and specialisation in diverse areas can definitely be an important partner in the development of quality human resource which will be a prime input for “World Knowledge Platform,” he added.Stressing the need to have a Global Human Resources Cadre, Kalam said that with nearly 10 million youth being injected into the employment market every year, 21st century India will need large number of talented youth with higher education for the task of knowledge acquisition, knowledge imparting, knowledge creation and knowledge sharing. Kalam further said that PIOs can contribute in providing quality higher education in developing world class skills among the remaining Indian youth along with a certification system which will be recognised by the global community. Earlier, Finance Minister P Chidambaram asked the Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to expand their horizons for investment here from the current 3-4 years to 10-15 years. Identifying investment and knowledge as the two key instruments that would help the country sustain a high growth rate, the Foreign Minister urged the Non-Resident Indians to participate in the process of infrastructure development in the country saying that apart from material resources, knowledge and expertise of the NRIs were also required for the development of the country.He admitted that there is no institutional mechanism at present on the lines of financial sector to receive knowledge from NRIs and promised to examine the idea of setting up one for receiving knowledge and expertise.
