Comments on: Is Indiaâ€™s infrastructure letting her down?

By: Patrix

Patrix — Tue, 03 May 2005 22:56:08 +0000

Parag – The keywords here are efficiency and quality. Sure, you can get to point A to point B, but do you get there in time and do you get there unruffled?

By: Parag

Parag — Tue, 03 May 2005 05:13:16 +0000

Does Mumbai really need metro? It may just turn out to be a white elephant. The local train network along with BEST buses is quite good. You can go from anywhere to anywhere with some combination of those.

By: Patrix

Patrix — Tue, 03 May 2005 01:37:26 +0000

M – I agree. They are horrendous and leave a bad first impression.

By: m

Mon, 02 May 2005 22:38:27 +0000

they should fix the airports first……..some gateways they have.

By: Patrix

Patrix — Mon, 02 May 2005 16:59:25 +0000

Abi – Some experts believe that India can afford to skip the manufacturing-based economy directly to service-based economy but I still believe that infrastructural problems will in the long run, affect India’s competitive edge in the Asian markets. Other Asian countries like Phillipines, Indonesia, etc.are trying to catch up quickly. Another aspect is the quality of life aspect. No business would like to relocate to a place that doesn’t let standard amenites i.e. uninterrupted power, good roads, etc. be taken for granted.

Charu – Navi Mumbai is the last line of defense before the crisis hits Bombay. Power cuts have been part of life elsewhere in the state. I think the Maharashtra government just has its priorities mixed up. It wants to build a world class economy with a third class mentality.

By: charu

charu — Mon, 02 May 2005 14:02:31 +0000

In many years in Bombay, I never faced any power problems…. but power cuts have been getting more and more frequent now… esp in Vashi where we moved recently… I used to think that Bombay would collapse if power supply is interrupted – coz of electric trains – but the situation only seems to be getting worse – and another favourite myth – of Bombay being a safe city – one of the safest for women in fact, has also been going bust…
the maharasthra government – like most other state governments – has got its priotrities topsy-turvy – more governance and less moral policing would go this state a lot of good…..

By: Abi

Abi — Mon, 02 May 2005 13:57:36 +0000

Remember this year’s budget? Our Government dreams of Mumbai becoming a major financial hub in Asia, along the lines of Singapore and Hong Kong!

Power cuts impose additional costs on businesses: they have to install batteries (pardon the pun) of uninterrupted power supply systems to run their machines and computers, thus adding to the capital costs. If a business has stiff labor requirements (programming, call centers, chartered accounting, tele-radiology), it makes sense to relocate it in, or outsource it to, India in spite of the additional capital costs imposed by power cuts and bad roads. I would presume that the labor cost advantage is far less in manufacturing. Does it mean that outsourcing of manufacturing, the wave that China rode to its current economic superpower hood, will not touch India?