This years Penguin Annual lecture features Abdul Kalam

Updated on: Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Former President A P J Abdul Kalam will deliver this year's Penguin Annual Lecture next week and speak on 'Beyond 2020' and ways of achieving sustainable development.

Into its sixth edition, the annual lecture has been featuring some of the world's most respected leaders, thinkers and writers over the years.
 
"On its 25th anniversary, Penguin India is proud to announce the sixth Penguin Annual Lecture to be delivered by former President A P J Abdul Kalam on December 18 in New Delhi. The lecture is titled 'Beyond 2020' and will concentrate on achieving sustainable development, vital to the future of the nation," the publishing house said.
 
Kalam's focus now is on transforming India into a developed nation by 2020, with an economically developed, prosperous and peaceful society. Over the last decade, he has addressed over 15 million youngsters, inspiring them to become active participants in India Vision 2020. He is the bestselling author of a number of books, including "India 2020", "Ignited Minds", "Mission India", "The Scientific Indian" and "Target 3 Billion".
 
He recently came out with "Turning Points", a forthright account of his years in Rashtrapati Bhavan in which he wrote about "behind-the-scene" details of his meetings with Sonia Gandhi after the 2004 Lok Sabha elections and with Manmohan Singh after the Supreme Court verdict on the dissolution of Bihar assembly.
 
The five previous Penguin lectures were delivered by journalist-writer Thomas Friedman (2007), diplomat-writer Chris Patten (2008), Nobel laureate Amartya Sen (2009), historian Ramachandra Guha (2010) and Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama (2011).
 
Last year, the Dalai Lama's speech focused on happiness, the art of being happy and his idea of human well-being.

Hemali Sodhi, vice-president of Penguin Books India, told, "We are delighted that in our 25th anniversary, A P J Abdul Kalam has agreed to deliver the Penguin Annual lecture.

He is one of Penguin India's biggest selling authors, and a visionary like no other. It is a proud moment for us and we are keenly looking forward to hearing him speak."

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