(Top) President APJ Abdul Kalam at the convocation ceremony of Patna University. (Above) President Kalam in a lighter moment with chief minister Nitish Kumar at a cancer hospital in Patna. Pictures by Deepak Kumar and PTI

Patna, Dec. 30: President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam today administered an inspiring oath to the children of Bihar while chief minister Nitish Kumar promised that after much talking, it was time to act and develop the state.

The one-line oath read: ?I will lead an honest life free from all corruption and will set an example for others to adopt a transparent way of life.?

A schoolgirl, into whose eyes the President looked straight asking if she would take the oath, was delighted. ?He looked at me. This is the best gift I could have got for the New Year. Even in school, they never made fighting corruption so easy; they never asked students to take an oath. I will never go back on what I promised the President.?

Kalam was delivering an address to inaugurate a mobile lok adalat, an effort that would see a van travel to the interiors of Bihar and settle disputes out of court. A retired district judge, lawyers and social workers would travel in the vehicle.

?You do not have to come to the court. Justice will come knocking at the doorstep of the poor. That is the concept of mobile lok adalat and Bihar, with its per capita income merely Rs 3,908, needs it the most,? the judge said.

The President described the launch as a ?beautiful occasion? but reminded the judiciary of its mission to clear pending cases. ?Transparency starts from home. One billion people in the country live in nearly 200 million homes. I ask the children if their parents get deviated from transparency and resort to dishonest methods, will they boldly correct them?? he asked. The children in the gathering said they would do it.

Earlier, addressing a function at a cancer hospital, the President said intensified research in DNA coding and on stem cells held the key to the treatment of the disease.

?Imported drugs for cancer treatment are priced high. There is a need to develop an industry-hospital-research institution consortia for the development of affordable indigenous products,? he added.

Kalam said there was a need also to develop an optimal chemotherapy schedule through mathematical models because this line of treatment needed cautious handling.

The President said early detection of cancer was necessary to combat the disease, which, he called was the ?most challenging health care problem of the region?.

Bihar vision

The President today sought the framing of ?Bihar Vision: Developed State by 2015? and described Nitish as an important personality produced by Patna University.

Nitish, on his part, promptly obtained Kalam?s consent to visit Bihar again in March next year to provide guidance to the government in developing Bihar.

?Hum sab milkar ek naye Bihar ka nirman karenge (Together we will make a new Bihar),? Nitish said at a function that preceded the President?s convocation address at Patna University.

Minutes later, Kalam set the goal and said: ?For the nation to develop, all the states have to develop. Bihar has an important role to play in realising this vision. We have to look ahead with confidence and set our sights high to make Bihar the leading example of resilience, growth, modernity and collective achievement.?

The President laid down six core areas that would help Bihar achieve its objective of development ? bio-fuel generation, water harvesting, textile industry, healthcare, converting fly ash into a wealth generator and small-scale enterprises.

The President made an oblique reference to the problems that have plagued Bihar, saying ?it was time people realised that crime and corruption do not pay?.

In his address at the convocation of LN Mithila University in Darbhanga, Kalam spoke at length on the PURA (Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas) alternative as a viable means to develop Bihar.