All of us want India to become a developed country in the fullest sense of the term in the shortest possible time. And each one of us has perhaps a different definition of a ‘developed’ country. My definition is: “when the quality of life in our rural areas becomes comparable to that in the non-urban areas of already developed countries.”
The appropriate Measures of Development for developing country are, in my opinion, two - per capita electricity consumption and female literacy. Not that other technologies need not be further developed or that males need no education! I use female literacy as a measure of development because not only is it indicative of societal literacy but it also shows the equity and social justice existent in that society; electricity has a multiplier effect on other industries. Before India can become a ‘developed’ country, there has to be near - complete literacy in the country and per capita electricity consumption has to go up by several times.
We have to protect India’s interests from being affected by attempts at technology domination by other countries, which they do nowadays through two instruments - Intellectual Property Rights and Technology Control Regimes. India must use technology foresight analysis to select the critical technologies suited to India’s needs and these could often be different from the technology choices of already-developed countries. Our critical technologies today, in my opinion, range from strategic technologies to rural development - related technologies.
Our R & D priorities in applied research must relate to the selected critical technologies and to the demands of Indian industry. Basic research must be supported because it is a cultural necessity.
India must become an economically advanced and militarily strong country, while preserving its rich cultural heritage and the uniqueness of its national character, which transcends religion.

—Dr. R. Chidambaram, 
DAC–Homi Bhabha Professor, 
Bhaba Atomic Research Centre