Just writing

It's a crazy world out there!

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Creativity and enterpreneurship is found on the streets

Indians are a bunch of creative people. A case in point:

I: On three sides of my office building, DLF is doing really huge construction activity. Implying that there are large number of construction workers/labourers working from morning to evening and staying in temporary hutments provided by the builder. They are going to be here for at least a year or get engaged in another huge construction project going on just 500 metres away. Most of these workers are migrants from Bihar and poorer regions of UP. Looking at their requirement to call up their families in remote villages, a guy had set up a movable kiosk (thela) with 4-5 WLL telephones (Reliance/Tata). And whenver I pass by in front of his thela , his phones are always engaged.

And by the way, when the labour move to another nearby construction site one year hence, I have no doubt that this creative thela wala would move along.

China-India: Old comparisons and still continuing

Case I: China plans to build a road up to Mt Everest base camp on the Tibet side. The 108 km road at such high terrains, is slated to be completed in 4 months. The point is the ability and will to complete such a big project in flat 4 months, and not that such a road would be ecologically harmful.

Case II: India faces severe power shortage. And yet, it has taken the government of India more than 6 months to disqualify a successful bidder (Lanco-Globeleq consortium) for the prestigious (and critically needed) 4,000 MW Ultra Mega Power Project, when the case is clearly of false presentation of facts (both experience in developing power projects and net worth of bidding company). And they are still holding "meetings" to decide how to disqualify/qualify the bidder. The project is already 6 months delayed and a decision on who will develop the project is likely to get into a limbo again.

One government completes a project in 4 months. On the other hand, its neighbour takes more than 6 months just to decide who will or will not develop the project.