Kalam elected India's 12th President congrulations to india's 12th president shree mr abdul kalam on his victory . AFP [ THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2002 2:02:01 PM ] NEW DELHI: APJ Abdul Kalam, who was on Thursday elected India's new president, said the country needed to banish poverty and become a developed nation within 20 years. "We need a mission, a mission that transforms India into a developed nation from a developing country in 20 years so that we can banish poverty," Kalam told his first press conference after his presidential victory was announced in Parliament. "We need a sound vision to transform ourselves into a prosperous, poverty-free, healthy and developed nation," he added. Kalam also emphasised that young people in India not only needed a "sound education" in maths and science but needed a gentle nudge from their elders to adopt good values. "Children in India must learn and adopt a good value system," said the colourful rocket scientist, who comes across more as a professor than a politician in his meetings with the press. "That is more important than all the technical education in the world." After working on India's space and defence programmes for 43 years, Kalam devoted his time to training the next generation, with the goal of bringing 100,000 young Indians into the scientific community by 2020. He is also involved in establishing a brain research centre to enable mentally challenged children to reach near-normal lives with the aid of the latest technology. And he is working on a project using electronics and IT to benefit deaf-and-dumb children. Of the total of 4,785 votes cast, Kalam received 4,152 and his lone challenger, 87-year-old Lakshmi Sahgal, received 459, RC Tripathi, the chief returning officer for the poll, announced. A total of 174 votes were declared invalid.