a presentation on book written by Apj Abdul kalam 'Turning points'

1. A.P.J . Abdul kalam
TURNING
POINTS
A JOURNEY THROUGH CHALLENGES

2. A.P.J. Abdul kalam was
the eleventh president
of India, from 2002 to
2007 . He is a recipient
of country’s highest
civilian awards,
including the Bharat
Ratna, and author of
several best-selling
books.

3. It was 24 July 2007 , the last day of presidency the
whole day dwells upon Dr. Kalam's interactions
with politicians, scientists, artists, writers, religious
heads, legal and judicial communities, non-
resident Indians, medical practitioners, farmers,
policemen, panchayat presidents, teachers, various
associations and institutions.
WHEN CAN I SING A SONG OF
INDIA ?

4. The chapter brings out the fact that Dr. Kalam used
to read the letters and emails sent by people from
all walks of life and even used to forward the
letters to the official concerned for supplementary
action which at times yielded fabulous results
Here are a few events that lightened my horizon ,
brought a smile to my lips , taught me lessons and
engaged me with the love of my countrymen.

5. It was like any other day on the ANNA UNIVERSITY
campus in Chennai , Dr kalam had to delivered a lecture
‘VISION TO MISSION” and the session got extended for
one or two hour .
Prof. kalanidhi fell in step with Dr kalam and told some
one had been frantically trying to get in touch with him
through the day .
MY NINTH LECTURE AT ANNA
UNIVERSITY

6. When he entered his room the phone was ringing as he spoke
to PM , Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Dr Kalam's life was set for
unexpected change.
which changed the course of action of the scientist and
academician, Dr. Kalam, when he was elected as the President
of one of the largest democracies in the world.
The innocence filled with wisdom of the simple people of my
land always gives me the confidence that my country will lead
the world to peace and prosperity.

7. SEVEN TURNING POINTS OF MY
LIFE
1. The first turning point in Kalam's life was in 1961 ,
He was a chief designer of a hovercraft as a senior scientific
assistant at the Aeronautical development establishment (ADE).
He was appointed as a rocket engineer at a newly formed ISRO
in 1962
2. The second turning point was entry into India’s missile
progremme in 1982 , he was offered me a position as the
director of the Defence Research and Development Laboratory
(DRDL) in HYDRABAD

8. 3. In July 1992 , He took over as the scientific adviser
to the Defence minister and secretary , Department
of Defence Research and Development, from
Arunachalam. This was the third turning point
4. The fourth turning point was the nuclear tests in
1998. Dr kalam in the year rejected the invitation to
be in the Cabinet minister list , The general opinion
was that since he was fully involved in two missions of
national importance he should not enter the political
system

9. 5. The fifth turning point was towards the end of 1999, When he was
appointed principal scientific adviser (PSA) to the government of India in
the rank of Cabinet minister.
On 30 September 2001 a crash took place while landing at Bokaro Steel
plant in Jharkhand when he was going to address audiences
Dr kalam shared a Hymn on courage
COURAGE
Courage to think different
Courage to invent,
Courage to travel on an unexplored path,
Courage to discover the impossible,
Courage to combat the problems and
succeed are the unique qualities of youth.
As a youth of my nation,
I will work and work with courage to achieve
success in all the missions

10. 6. After about two years as PSA he returned to his academic
pursuit at Anna university as professor of technology for
Societal Transformation for giving priority to the programmes
of India 2020 mission like PURA ( providing Urban amenities
in Rural Areas )
7. At the end of his political tenure as a president every one
was asking for the second term but he took a conscious
decision to go back to a career In academics and research and
continue to work with passion for transforming India into an
economically developed nation by the year 2020.

11. THE INTERACTIVE PRESIDENT
The presidency became a platform to
launch India 2020 which he believe
can only be achieved by the
participation of all citizens including
elected representatives all the way up
to parliament , administrators , artists
and writers , and youth of the country
for this Dr kalam has taken various
steps :-

12. 1. He initiate G2G e-governance operations in rashtrapati bhavan
in which everyone was connected to prime minister’s office over
a secured messaging network with digital signature .
2. Second he invited members of parliament of every state and
union territories to get first hand knowledge about the status of
development there.
3. He look for the problems why the court cases was pending in
the courts this was because an inadequate number of cases ,
inadequate number of judicial officers , the role of
administrative staff etc.

13. WHAT CAN I GIVE TO THE NATION
?
Putting smile on the faces of one billion countrymen and
women giving them honour and respect among other
countries are the things Dr kalam wants to give back to
nation which can only be achieved through economic
development and education.
He gave 10 national addresses during his tenure that
include translating vision to mission
His mission was to make India a developed nation that is
free from Poverty, illiteracy, and unemployment

14. In order to succeed in the mission the five key areas where
India has a core competence for integrated action are:
• agriculture and food processing
• Education and health care
• Infrastructure
• Information and communication technology
• Self reliance in critical technologies

15. LEARNING FROM OTHERS
On gifts
Just after independence Kalam's father was elected as a president
of village council not because he belongs to a particular religion or
cast but on the basis of his nobility of mind and for being a good
human being
After receiving a gift from an unknown person Kalam's father told
him that accepting gift is not a bad thing but a gift is always
accompanied by some purpose and therefore it is a dangerous
thing

16. A nurtured value system
Kalam learnt a lesson of values when his elder brother refuses to
change his accommodation where he has spent his 90 years of life ,
here was a man who would like to lead his life on his own terms and
does not want any help , well meant though it might be.
A haj pilgrimage
The episode teaches how his 90 year old brother was cared by
others while trip to mecca the episode teaches how even small
gestures transform our lives in a big way , love towards our fellow
human beings flows like an uninhibited river washing away all
differences

17. The inimitable Khushwant
The experience to meet with Khushwant singh defines what
is Kalam's concept of God ? It is not Allah versus Ishwar ,
Khuda Versus Bhagwan . He is not to be looked for mosque
or a temple . Kalam's concept of godliness is COMPASSION

18. TOWARDS A COMPETITIVE NATION
The majority of India's population lives in the villages and the real
challenge is to enrich the lives of 750 million people who live there
.
This explains the significance of nanotechnology, e-governance,
bio-diesel, water,
energy, the successful testing of a missile like Agni V , surface to
surface missile ( Prithvi) , surface to air missile ( Akash ) , short
range missile ( Trishul ) , anti tank missile ( Nag) and a few
other space activities.
The demand is shifting towards development of sustainable system
which are technology superior.

19. THE CANDLE AND THE MOTH
The chapter contains Dr Kalam's conversations pertaining to the
crash of the Airborne Surveillance Platform on the 11th of January
1999 with Prof. Arun Tiwari.
The Airborne Surveillance Platform (ASP) is an Indian Defence project
initiated by the Defence Research and Development
Organization (DRDO) with the aim to produce an Airborne Early
Warning System. Two prototypes were developed and flight tested
for three years. The project was cancelled in 1999 after the prototype
aircraft crashed, killing eight scientists and the aircrew. After four
years of inactivity, the project was revived in 2004 with a new
platform and radar.

20. MY VISIT TO GUJARAT
One of the pillar of development is to create a nation where
poverty has been totally eradicated and illiteracy removed.
The major task immediately after becoming president was visit to
Gujarat in August 2002 after the riots in Gujarat state , Dr kalam
visited three relief camps and nine riot-hit locations where the
losses had been high , he consider it an important duty so that he
can be some use to remove the pain , and also accelerate the relief
activities , and bring about the unity of minds , which is Dr Kalam's
mission

21. At HOME ABROAD
This chapter presents a few highlights from Dr Kalam's visit to Sudan, South Africa, European Union,
Greece, and Switzerland.
The most important important aspects of these visits was how to present the core competencies of
our country and how to learn from the practices of other countries for our benefit
In sudan discussions centred on building