Sixty years ago, India was like a featherless, helpless baby bird that had just cracked out of the egg and discovered freedom, a whole new beginning for that tiny embryo. With its eyes closed and crying for aid, she was ready to take in any warmth she got in the cold world. But today, India is a grown up bird that has spread its wings and taken off into the heights of the sky, soaring full-fledged with poise towards the future.

Her progress is backed by the establishment and adherence to the famed democratic way of functioning of the government. Today, India is a role model to the rest of the world and is the largest democracy in the world.

Right now, our country is moving from the chrysalis of an "emerging" economy to a "surging" economy and becoming a centre of innovation, the critical differentiator to ensure future growth for any nation. India is working to transform its long-standing tradition of innovation into an engine of economic and social progress to create a better tomorrow for its citizens.

We have produced world-class scientists, engineers, journalists, soldiers, bureaucrats, politicians and doctors who have contributed much to internal growth as well as the world economy. India can be proud of her sons for everyone looks up to them as their role models. The likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Dr. Abdul Kalam, Kalpana Chawla, Burkha Dutt and Shashi Tharoor have given rise to a new generation of nation builders, peace makers and have inspired young minds to surge forward of mere existence.

Thanks to our engineers, we have built complex bridges and dams, sent satellites and rockets into space and created a modern living space. We have built about 20 lakh km of new roads, multiplied our steel production by over 50 times and cement production by almost 20 times and increased our exports from a few million dollars at the time of Independence to more than $ 125 billion now. We have also increased the number of doctors 10-fold, owing to our educational facilities and increased life expectancy from 32 years to 65 years, in arrears to the infrastructural and medical facilities.

A few major achievements that have transformed the lives of our people in a way we never imagined would happen in the past 60 years are the Green Revolution initiated by Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, which not only transformed India into a food-surplus economy from a food-deficit economy, but also triggered the expansion of the rural, non-farm economy; the White Revolution that changed India from experiencing an acute shortage of milk to the largest producer of milk, thanks to the extraordinary vision of Dr. Varghese Kurien, continued ably by Amrita Patel.

The Economic reforms of 1991 initiated by late prime minister Narasimha Rao, Dr. Manmohan Singh, P. Chidambaram and Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia opened up the minds of Indian corporate leaders to the power of global markets, helped them accept competition at home and abroad, and raised the confidence of consumers.

No other technology has brought India, the urban and the rural, together as the 500-line EPABX designed and implemented by the Centre for Development of Telematics (CDOT) under the leadership of Sam Pitroda and Prof Yash Pal's Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) blossomed into a full-scale television facility giving voice to the opinions of a billion people. Development of atomic energy is another major leap India has taken in the direction of progress. And, of course, there is the IT boom that requires no further detailing.

What do these eight programmes have in common? They were all led by visionaries. These visionaries accepted global benchmarks and settled for nothing less despite tremendous odds. In each of these initiatives the national government was a genuine catalyst supported by some extraordinary politicians and bureaucrats. These examples clearly show how the people and the government can work together to achieve what is thought impossible.

What can one expect from the India of 2067? An India where every child will have access to decent education, healthcare, nutrition and shelter. An India where every child belonging to every race, religion and caste is confident that there is a bright future for him/her if he/she is honest and hard working. An India which receives respect from every global forum is envisioned of and we will be gracious hosts; we will be fair; we will be pluralistic and respect every faith; we will be trustworthy and our aspirations and accomplishments will be high.

Like Dr. Manmohan Singh said, the nation is on the move. The challenge before us is to make the growth process more socially inclusive and regionally balanced. We need to continue to identify and execute changes that will benefit individual organisations and society at large and lay the foundations for a stronger India. In the past 60 years, people moved to where work was available; in the next 60 years work must move to where people live.