At a time when everything you see in the news or read in the papers points to an imminent economic doom in India, it is useful to just occasionally step away from the media reports and go check the story of India’s progress out for yourself.
- The infrastructure is improving, rapidly: I visited MP last 3 years ago, and in the mean time, it has improved dramatically. The roads are wider and are of higher quality, the rivers clean, windmills mushrooming, and schools running.
- Strong leadership can produce great results: I spoke to a few different people who hail from vastly different backgrounds over the span of my weeklong trip, and every single one of them said that the Chief Minister is doing a great job. I checked out the basic statistics of the city, and indeed industry is expanding and income and literacy improving. I left the state feeling optimistic about the future of presently underdeveloped areas in the country.
- Telecom is omnipresent: Somewhere in my long road journey through the state, sometime in the middle of a rather long phone call, I realized that mobile connectivity in India is excellent. While 80% connectivity is low-hanging fruit, the last 20%, are immensely more difficult to achieve. But the last 20% brings in something invaluable to commerce: stability. People can buy houses, build hotels, be in touch with other buyers and sellers, have meetings on the go, without ever having to worry about being cut off from their families or the information of the world.
- Indian companies are becoming globally competitive on quality. R&D, a concept nearly unheard of in India 15 years ago, is being placed strong emphasis on. Companies in several spaces, whether in pharma, agri-based products, or technology, are treating R&D the right way. They are not spending Pfizer type of money on it, but are investing a meaningful portion of their profits. They realize that while most of the expenditure is not going to yield fruit, R&D has the potential to launch their companies into the global sphere, the one time it results in a new breakthrough development. It is a sign that Indian businessmen are thinking more long-term.
- India is unbelievably good at finding low-cost solutions. Indian businessmen usually think through their businesses phenomenally. In the companies we’ve visited, machinery was modern and the facilities were clean, but what captured our attention the most was the clarity with which whole projects are planned. The plants’ layout, the machinery, and the stationing of people is done keeping a faster turnaround (meaning lower cost) in mind. Not too many people, not too many vehicles, but those present are working. I think the promoter of the company we visited said it best: “My motto is to have no idle capacity.”
Praveen Chunduru: I am presently employed as an Investment Analyst with International Finance Corporation. My passion is to set up new institutions or systems (however small) and hand them over. Would love to elaborate some time. My biggest hobby is writing. I write for TIE and maintain a blog with a good friend of mine. My dream is to one day write for The Economist, my favourite magazine. In TIE, I try to focus on writing from experience and observation than from research. Hope you find my articles convincing sometimes, disagreeable sometimes, but thought-provoking and enjoyable, always.