Former President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, who was in Ahmedabad on Wednesday for the first convocation ceremony of the Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar, spoke exclusively to Newsline and shared his thoughts on the Indo-US nuclear deal, among other issues. Following are excerpts of the interview:

* You have always been an advocate of nuclear energy, which is also one of the critical components of Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA). In the context of the recent Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, how do you perceive India’s nuclear energy growth profile?
I have always believed that for India to be a developed nation, energy independence should be the core focus. It includes not only nuclear power but also renewable sources like solar, bio-fuel and wind among others. The need of the hour is to develop a multi-pronged strategy for ‘Capacity Building for Energy Independence of India’. Regarding the agreement with the US, it will help in ensuring fuel for the existing nuclear reactors. But at the same time, India should also focus on building its own Thorium-based nuclear reactors to achieve energy independence.

* You have a very long association with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which is being criticised of late by the country’s top leadership. What are the changes that you see in the organisation now?
All that I can say is that the scientists in every era put in their best. The results are not always the correct criterion to gauge the inputs. I believe that same is the case with the DRDO.

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