Chandigarh: President A P J Abdul Kalam on September 29 said the Uniform Civil Code was essential for a country like India with a billion people as any law has to be uniformly applicable.

The President's comments on the Uniform Civil Code came during an interactive session with school children in Chandigarh.

Stressing on the need to make India a developed nation by 2020, he hailed the launch of INSAT-3E on September 28 as another milestone in the country's space communication.

He said India's Moon Mission and Mars exploration would be another area where success would be achieved.

"We have to make India economically strong, technologically advanced and prosperous," Kalam said.

Asked what was the most important thing that would help India earn a place among the world's developed countries, he said education for all and employment generation were the key factors.

"Education, particularly girls' education, is very important. We must also generate employment for several of our unemployed. I believe these are the two most important factors," he said.

The cost of education has to come down to make it affordable for all, the President said.

On the reservation policy, he explained to the students, drawn from 120 schools in the Union Territory, that in the Constitution there is a provision that certain people need help.

However, he said, "I believe in due course of time merit will have to play an important role."

PTI