Politics is not my cup of tea: Kalam

Bhubaneswar, Jan 15 (PTI) Former President A P JAbdul Kalam today said he was not cut out for politics as hewas basically a teacher.

"Politics is not my cup of tea", Kalam told a schoolstudent when he had asked him why he quit politics when thecountry was facing a host of problems.

"I was basically a teacher..I was teaching and Iwas a professor," Kalam told the student of the SaiInternational School here.

During his interaction with the students, Kalam toldthe MBA students to try to become leaders instead of comingout from the Institute as managers.

Earlier, Kalam told a function at the BharatiyaVidya Bhavan here that since knowledge is the source of powerfor a nation in a globalised world, India needs to beknowledge driven.

"Besides, it is necessary for India to raise theannual growth rate to ten per cent for the next ten years fromthe present level of about eight per cent in order to becomeeconomically strong and advanced," he said.

However, only economic progress will not be able tobring development without good citizens, he said, adding,people of the country must be endowed with virtues, courage,knowledge and righteousness.