I am delighted to meet, address and interact with the Indian Community of Minneapolis. My greetings to all the members of the Indian Community of Minneapolis. Dear friends, when I see many youth assembled here, I am reminded of my interaction with the many students from multiple disciplines, on ideas which can lead to the realization of a World Vision 2030 and evolve ideas which can transform the world. With this global mission as a theme, today I would like to talk on the topic "Evolution of Happy, Prosperous and Peaceful Societies and building a better world"

Dear friends, let me first share with you my personal experience. Right attitude will make societies successful. Positive attitude with compassion will also lead to the individual happiness, state happiness, national happiness and global happiness. In this context, let me explain one event. When I was delivering a lecture at University of Harvard, One student asked me a question. She asked me what action of yours made you happier or happiest or brought Ananda or Bliss. What an important question, which I have to answer. Let me share with you the answer which I have shared with all of them.

It is true, I was happy in 1980 when my team successfully launched a four stage rocket system SLV-3, first time developed in India, which put the Rohini satellite in the orbit. Again in 1989, I was elated when my team succeeded in launching AGNI, an ICBM and it reached its target. In 1998, when India successfully carried out the Pokhran nuclear tests, we were at the site of experiment which had at that time a temperature of 50 degree Celsius and India took its place as a responsible strong nuclear weapon state, it gave us beautiful feelings.

I recall here one important task I had as the Chairman of the Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC). In this Council, we took a major decision to bring out a vision document for transforming India into an economically developed nation before the year 2020. This task involved getting information from more than five thousand people and five hundred team members worked on evolution of twenty volumes of the document. That has become a road map for various development missions. I felt this task was most fulfilling and gave me happiness.

But the happiest moment of my life was something unique. During my visit to one of the hospitals in Hyderabad, I found many children were struggling to walk with an artificial limb (pros-thetic) weighing over 3 kgs. At the request of Prof. Prasad of NIMS, Head of orthopedic department at that time, I asked my AGNI friends why we cannot use the composite material used for AGNI heat shield for fabricating Floor Reaction Orthosis (FROs) prosthetics for polio affected patients. They immediately said it is possible. We worked on this project for sometime and came up with a FRO prosthetic limb for children weighing around 300 gms in place of 3 kg. Exactly, 1/10th of the weight which the child was carrying. The doctors helped us to fit the new light weight pros-the-tic on the children and the children started walking, smiling and running around. With the light weight device provided by the hospital they could run, ride a bicycle and do all sorts of things which they had been denied for a long time.

Their parents were overjoyed to see the happiness of their children. Tears rolled down on all of them through the joy of seeing their daughters and sons running with light prosthetics. That is the moment which gave me bliss in my life above all the other happy occasions.

Dear friends, what action will make this world a happy place to live, a prosperous place and peaceful place. Our dimension of thinking and action has to get transformed into a new phenomenon to achieve that goal. Keeping this in my mind, let me now present to you what will be the mission for the world to realize the goal. Let me share with you my visualization of World through "World Vision 2030" and its dimensions.

First, let me present to you all the visualizations of World 2030 vision.
1. A world of nations where the divide between rural and urban, rich and the poor, developed and developing has narrowed down.

2. A world of nations where there is an equitable distribution and adequate access to energy and quality water.

3. A world where core competencies of each nation are identified. Missions synergizing the core competencies of different nations lead to economic advantage and faster development for all the societies.

4. A world of nations where all the students of all societies are imparted education with value system.

5. A world of nations where affordable quality health care is available to all.

6. A world of nations where the governance is responsive, transparent and corruption free.

7. A world of nations where crimes against women and children are absent and none in the society feels alienated.

8. A world in which every nation is able to give a clean green environment to all its citizens.

9. A world that is prosperous, healthy, secure, devoid of terrorism, peaceful and happy and continues with a sustainable growth path.

10. A world of nations with creative leadership who ensure effective mechanisms to resolve conflicts between nations and societies in a timely manner keeping overall peace and prosperity of the world as a goal.

Friends, I discussed these visualizations with my students and many other experts during my interaction with the students in India and abroad. One question which emanated often was "how can such a vision are realized by 2030?"

This is indeed a great question and I have a plan of action. Of course it will have a multi-pronged focus, with multi-dimensional approach spanning across multiple societies and nations.

For a peaceful and prosperous world, nations have to be peaceful and prosperous. For that, the states within the nation, the urban rural areas within the states have to be peaceful and prosperous. Equitable development of nations, in a sustainable way, is a pre-requisite for achieving the distinctive profile as depicted above. The challenges faced by nations in dealing with diverse issues in different countries, sometimes similar way and some times differently, call for new methods of collaboration between and among nations. Technological complexities and cost factors in solving issues like water, energy independence, environment protection, health, will require intense cooperation in research, development and operationalization. We need to work together to understand and protect against the fury of nature like earthquakes, cyclones, flood and famine. The recent economic turbulence has taught us the need for resilient measures globally to prevent any such set backs. The youth of the world are ready to contribute to development, and we need to enable them with global cadre skill sets and higher education skills. We have to combine our vigilance against terrorism of any kind. Of course we have to fight against common enemies of illiteracy, poverty, drug menace and other diversions for development. Art, music and sports are indeed integrating factors for the unification of human minds.

In a globalizing world where the challenges we face are international, there has to be a seamless flow of knowledge across nations, across societies and across continents. The nations around the world have to share their core competencies and create pioneering products and services which can bring improved human life to the 6 billion population around the world. The connectivity and sharing of core competence will lead to the evolution of global knowledge capital sharing platforms in the form of a World Knowledge Platform. Let me discuss about this system.

I firmly believe that nations can collaborate with their unique core competencies leading to development of system or product which benefits both the nations and the world. I call this as World Knowledge Platform.

One such example is the emergence of BrahMos in which India and Russia have jointly invested $150 million each to create a world class first supersonic cruise missile using their core competencies. Today, it has generated a business volume of $10 billion benefiting both the nations. This joint cooperation example between nations, highlights cooperation in technology sharing and trade and also provides a means of containing certain security concerns.

Another such example is Pan-African e-network, the mission initiated by India which benefits 53 African nations through providing tele-medicine, tele-education and e-governance services with an investment of US$125 million to meet the Millennium Development Goals of African countries.

Similarly, India and South Korea joined together and created a world knowledge platform for nano technology systems at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

On the 18th of May 2011, I was in Sydney where I visited and interacted with a team of doctors, ophthalmologists and vision experts from the Brien Holden Vision Institution at the University of New South Wales. For eliminating avoidable blindness from the world, there is a mission called Global Vision 2020. It is presided over by Prof GN Rao of LV Prasad Eye Institute, one of the renowned ophthalmologists in India and Prof Brien Holden of Vision Institute at the University of New South Wales. Both these institutes are conducting research and trials in the areas such as identifying and preventing genetic eye degradation, low cost and robust vision correction devices. Both India and Australian institutions are great partners in eliminating the world avoidable blindness mission. This type of cooperation indeed is, World Knowledge Platform.

We have several examples of individual visionaries motivating a team and realizing new technologies, products and business plans in a competitive environment. These contribute to the development process of the society and create new markets not even visualized originally. For example we see how mobile phones had accelerated the societal communication and societal linkage. In future convergence of nano-info-bio technologies will lead to evolution of new methods of diagnostics and treatment of diseases genetically. These new products as well as the major challenges faced by humanity for improving the quality of life, critical resources trigger volume of requirements as well as breakthrough technologies and products which call for out of box thinking within and among organization spread throughout the world. They call for innovative partnership where competition and cooperation have to coexist globally. Such a co-operation can be achieved through the creation of a World Knowledge Platform.

This world knowledge platform will enable joint design, development, cost effective production and marketing of the knowledge products in various domains like:

1. Water: Desalination of sea water using solar energy, channelization, networking of rivers, cost effective safe drinking water.

2. Healthcare: Diagnosis, drug delivery system, development and production of vaccines for HIV/TB, malaria and cardiac diseases, detection and cure of diabetics.

3. Agriculture and Food processing: Increased production of food grain in an environment of reduced land, reduced water and reduced manpower; preservation of food; food processing; cost effective storage and distribution.

4. Knowledge products: Hardware, Software and Networking and Storage Products including handheld micro and nano electronic devices.

5. Transportation systems: Fossil fuel free transportation systems using renewable energies safety systems, hardware and embedded software integration.

6. Disaster Prediction and Management

7. Combating climate change

8. Capacity Building

Attainment of prosperity will be effective only if nations are also able to evolve development systems which are sustainable. A model for the integrated rural prosperity with sustainable development which is being pursued by government and private institutions in India is called the PURA (Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas) Mission that may be applicable globally for sustained development of the nations and societies.

Friends, the realization of these missions are indeed challenging. The first step towards achieving such missions would be the nurturing of the right attitude. Whether it is an individual or organisation or community or nation, the attitudes are important for progress. When surrounded by day to day issues, there is a tendency to forget the good things we are bestowed with. Here, let me recall a great Tamil poetess of India, Avvaiyar who sang and sang 2000 years back. She has portrayed the importance of human birth in the universe and given a message, how human beings should make use of this birth for the realization of lasting happiness. The Tamil version of Avvaiyar?s poetry goes as follows:

அவ்வையார் கவிதை
அரிது அரிது மானிடராதல் அரிது
அதனினும் அரிது கூன் குருடு செவிடு பேடு நீங்கி பிறத்தல்
கூன் குருடு செவிடு பேடு நீங்கிப் பிறந்தாலும்
ஞானமும் கல்வியும் நயத்தல் அரிது
ஞானமும் கல்வியும் நயத்த காலையும்
தானமும் தவமும் தான் செய்தல் அரிது
தானமும் தவமும் தான் செய்தக் காலையில்
வானகம் திறந்து வழிவிடுமே.

It means:
It is rare to be born as a human being,
It is still rarer to be born without any deformity.
Even if you are born without any deformity,
It is rare to acquire knowledge and education.
Even if one could acquire knowledge and education,
It is still rare to offer service to the mankind and contemplate on the higher self.
If one leads such a selfless divine life,
The gates of heaven open to greet such an evolved soul.

When we are in a world with several apparently unsolvable problems, we have to appreciate what we are blessed with, conserve them without pride or greed, and judiciously share with such of those who are not as fortunate as we are. Let us take the example of knowledge, energy, water, and environment. Like minded people can go to community schools and impart knowledge skills. Every occasion, we use energy. Let us remember how much conservation, beyond our real needs, can light up homes for those who have no access or interrupted access to energy. When we allow the water to go down the drain, let us imagine how many families can be benefited by this wasted water. Let us realize how our research or development or business can bring a quality of life to people below poverty line across the world.

Prosperity of nations is important for the prosperity of the world and to avoid conflicts and war. The centuries of learning from different civilizations should enable us to formulate ideas and systems to bring prosperity and reduce disparities. One of the main drivers would be human values and national ethics. I was always asking myself, is it possible to achieve profit with integrity leading to sustainable growth? For this, we need to have National ethics for all the nations across the world. Wherefrom it starts?

1. Nation has to have ethics in all its tasks, for sustained economic prosperity and peace.

2. If nation is to have ethics; society has to promote ethics and value system.

3. If society is to have ethics and value system, families should adhere to ethics and value system;

4. If families have to get evolved with ethics and value system, parenthood should have inbuilt ethics.

5. Parental ethics come from great learning, value based education and creation of clean environment that leads to righteousness in the heart.

My best wishes to all of you for success in your mission of bringing unity of minds.

May God Bless you.