Work dedicatedly in science and technology: Kalam

Bhubaneswar, Jan 4 (IBNS) Former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam appealed to school children to be unique and work dedicatedly in the field of science and technology.

Inaugurating the Children Science Congress on the sidelines of 99th Indian Science Congress at Bhubaneswar, Kalam answered a number of questions raised by children.

Replying to a question on how he managed to balance science and politics when he was the President of India, Kalam said, "Science needs lots of money and money comes from politicians."

Defending expenditure on defence programmes he expressed, "I personally feel science is for people who have the capacity to do that and you can select science or humanity."

He also replied question on science, space and missile technology.

"Earth, Moon and Mars will become economic entity in next three decades and we will be seeking lot of things from there," he added.

The 99th edition of ISC was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday.

More than 15,000 delegates, including scientists and students, are participating in the Jan 3-7 event being held at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT University).

The theme of the conference is "Science and Technology for Inclusive Innovation - Role of Women". The five-day event will see technical sessions, plenary sessions, vision talks, panel discussions, public lectures, a ´Pride of India´ expo and other programmes.

Besides the emphasis on women and children, the other issue in focus at the Congress would be missiles. India´s premier military weapons developer, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), will display models of the Agni, Prithvi, Nag, Akash, BrahMos and Astra missiles.

Children Science Congress is held every year since 1993 with an aim to make children aware and practice scientific methods.

Students also display some innovative ideas at Science Exhibition held parallel to the three-day event.