Abdul
Kalam studied at the Rameswaram Elementary School at Rameswaram
and then at the Schwartz High School at Ramanathapuram.
In 1950, he went to St. Joseph’s College, Trichy,
to study for the Intermediate examination. He stayed at
the St. Joseph’s campus for 4 years and obtained a
B. Sc. Degree. After this, he joined the Madras Institute
of Technology (MIT) and completed a degree in Aeronautical
Engineering.
He worked at Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bangalore as a trainee. In 1958,
he joined the Directorate of Technical Development and Production
DTD&P (Air) of the Ministry of Defence at Delhi, as
Senior Scientific Assistant. Here, he was posted at the
Technical Centre (Civil Aviation).He went to America for
a six-month training programme on sounding rocket launching
techniques, at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) work centres. He played a vital role in the development
of the Indian rockets Rohini and Menaka.
Dr. Kalam, as a rocket
specialist, had to evaluate the progress made in the areas
of aerodynamics, structure and propulsion of the missile.
In July 1980, India’s first Satellite Launch Vehicle,
SLV-3 took off and successfully put the Rohini satellite
into a low earth orbit. In 1981, he was conferred with the
Padma Bhushan award. In 1982, he was appointed Director,
Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL).Dr.
Kalam was conferred with the honorary degree of Doctor of
Science, by Anna University, Chennai.
Dr. Kalam was involved
in the creation of Research Centre Imarat (RCI).In 1990,
Dr. Abdul Kalam was conferred with the Padma Vibhushan award,
and honorary degree of Doctor of Science by Jadavpur University.
In 1991, he received an honorary degree of Doctor of Science
from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.
He was Chairman of Technology
Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC)
and was involved in the preparation of Technology Vision
2020, giving a road map for transforming India from the
present developing status to a developed nation.From 1999
to 2001, Dr. Kalam was the Principal Scientific Advisor
to the Government of India, in the rank of Cabinet Minister.Dr.
Kalam was also the Chairman, Ex-officio, of the Scientific
Advisory Committee to the Cabinet (SAC-C) and piloted India
Millennium Mission 2020. On 25th July, 2002, he was sworn
in as President of India.
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Naidu
was born in Naravaripally, a village in the Chittoor district.
He earned a Masters degree in Economics from the Sri Venkateswara
University, Tirupati, and ventured into politics while pursuing
his Ph.D. there. In 1978, Naidu was elected to the Andhra
Pradesh Legislative Assembly, from the Chandragiri constituency
in the Chittoor district, on an Indian National Congress
ticket. He became a minister in Tanguturi Anjaiah's cabinet,
holding various portfolios including Archives, Cinematography,
Technical Education, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development,
Public Libraries and Minor Irrigation between 1980 to 1983.
He also served as the Chairman of the Karshak Parishad state.
After losing the election
from Chandragiri in 1983 on Congress party ticket, he resigned
to Congress and joined Telugu Deasam Party founded by his
father-in-law Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao and he was elected
again to the State Legislature from the Kuppam constituency
of the Chittoor district in 1989 on telugu Deasam party
ticket.
In 1994, he was re-elected
to the Assembly from the Kuppam constituency with one of
the largest margins of victory (57,000 votes), and went
on to hold portfolios such as Finance and Revenue. It was
during Naidu's tenure that the Finance department became
significantly more transparent.He was sworn in as the Chief
Minister of Andhra Pradesh on 1 September 1995.
Naidu was instrumental
in making Hyderabad one of the IT hubs in the country. A
key development for this was Microsoft's decision to set
up a development center in Hyderabad.[1] Naidu also set
up a Biotech park, and intended to make Andhra Pradesh the
number-one destination in biotechnology.
Much of the modernisation
of the administration of the area is attributed to Naidu,
who computerized a number of government operations and led
initiatives to improve the government-public interface,
particularly in streamlining the process of payment of all
utility bills and taxes.According to Naidu, "our vision
of Andhra Pradesh is a state where poverty is totally eradicated;
where every man, woman and child has access to not just
the basic minimum needs, but to all opportunities for leading
a happy and fulfilling life; a knowledge and learning society
built on the values of hard work, honesty, discipline and
a collective sense of purpose."[citation needed] This
reflects Naidu's perspective on the state's development,
with the details of the vision to be fine-tuned in consultation
with the people on a continuing basis.Naidu laid a lot of
emphasis on water conservation and water harvesting.
Awards
1. South Asian of the Year - Time Asia
1999
2. Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellow - January 2006
3. IT Indian of the Millennium - India Today 2000
4. Business Person of the Year - Economic Times
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