More on Bangalore: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1328960.cms [a nice rejoinder if you have read my previous post] Yuheein Chalaa Chal Rahi Malaysian Govt. to .... "build about 3,000 km of freeways and highways connecting major cities .... such a network of freeways - between Delhi and Kolkata, one connecting Chennai-Kochi-Bangalore and between Mumbai and Bhopal - would open up the floodgates of investment and development and accelerate economic growth in the areas around it... http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1329419.cms

I spent the past two weeks in the Silicon Valley of India - Bangalore. I had visited the city about 10 years ago with my parents before it became the Mecca of Indian IT Industry. My experiences were quite different from my expectations. I had expected a newly morphed metro which would be extremely crowded, lacking roads/flyovers and bustling with night life. I found OK roads and flyovers in some parts of the city, bad roads in some others, lots of traffic & pollution but a small town at heart albeit a very romantic one. Night life is virtually non-existent with even pubs closing down by 11:30PM. While one would expect old Bangalore to have narrow roads but the city planners have not granted wider avenues even to newer areas. I wonder whether their visiting Mumbai (which is facing the problems of similar myopic development in suburbs) would help. But, old Bangalore is also dotted by parks and lots of trees and hence is quite a romantic setting. The cantonment which covers almost 60%

The TOI wrote in its editorial today – “…the vilification campaign against her [Khushboo] … [is] guided by a mixture of Victorian prudery and high Brahminical moralism [ see this ] …” This sentence speaks volumes how cultures the world over have intertwined themselves. The world today is very much similar to Salman Rushdie’s stories – “… where to understand one bit of the world, you have to understand another bit of the world.” So while ‘Chicken Tikka’ becomes the top delicacy in UK and ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ prepares to launch itself in the U.S., millions of Indian children eagerly await the release of JK Rowling’s next sequel. Globalization manifests itself in ways more than one – linguistics intermingle, sub-cultures pervade and events have repercussions beyond the oceanic boundaries. At the same time, fundamental, separatist and regionalist tendencies also intensify. So while the term Victoria may be inseparable from the city of Mumbai, it can induce outlandish hatred in the neigh

Prologue: Starting a series post is a risky business – if you do not get time to post the sequel fast enough, the original post conveys an incomplete meaning and starts receiving unfavorable comments. That is what happened to my previous post. Anyway – better late than never – here is the second and concluding part of Innovation = ...... As I argued in the previous post, without innovation, it is not possible to reach the echelons of global trade and difficult to oust competition. Going further, not just international competition, even domestic trade and indigenous industry is unlikely to prosper without innovation. Any new innovation, fuels a chain of many other parallel mini-innovations to be done around the central theme. For example, the 1-lakh-small-car by Tata Motors requires new initiatives in each of its ancillaries – from upholstery makers to tire makers. On the other hand, how much internal business does an Oracle implementation in the U.S. generate back home in India? One co

Eavesdropping is crime, especially in corporate circles. I had no intention of committing this crime, but I could not ‘unlisten’ the very excited and loud description of a to-be-given presentation that this individual was narrating on the phone. “I will talk about the market scenario, then about emerging India, then how we are globalizing our business model and ……” Of late, I have got tired of the incessant chant in politico-industrial circles – knowledge superpower India, emerging India, global positioning etc. Some have already placed India on the highest pedestal in the IT industry while others are modest enough to just lay claims over the top position by 2010/2020. While it is true that, Indian companies with their Global Delivery Model, low-cost-highly-educated workforce and strong process orientation, are sure taking on the IBMs and Accentures of the world right from the front – but they are far from snatching the turf from these global majors. More so India poses no threat to Am

They stole the most expensive object from the high-profile Saree Store in Juhu. But probably, they will never be caught. They stole the CCTV.

This Bhopali blogger met with an accident and this post of hers made me remember my own tryst with life (or should I call it death?) about 8 years ago. I was in class XI, probably the best of my school years; life had been benevolent and I was riding on waves of success in school's responsibility chart . That eventful day [September 30th, 1997] I was waiting after school hours to meet the principal concerning the upcoming teacher's day. By the time this meeting ended, the whole school was empty and I was the last one to leave. I started my Kinetic Honda, moved out and just 100 meters outside the campus as I turned left onto the main road .......... I myself don't remember anything after I took that turn - nature has programmed this feature of memory loss into us to protect us from the psychological trauma of remembering such morose points in life. Anyway continuing the tale (now based on my friends' narration to me). Another kid of class 6th from my school was bikin

There is a concept of perpetual bonds issued by Brazilian Banks. A perpetual bond never matures – you get interest on it whole life but you never get back the principal. Many finance wizards might be perplexed as to why such bonds sell, given the fact that interest rates are poised to dip lower in future. Brazilian banker's feel that it sells because banks have marketed these bonds on the basis of a theory that says Brazilian economy is poised for a makeover. This information is courtesy of my friend A , who visited Brazil recently and met some leading bankers there. He claims that this marketing of perpetual bonds is similar to 'India Shining' campaign unleashed by the previous BJP government. But while perpetual bonds are a success story in Brazil, the 'India Shining' campaign failed to get BJP back into power in India. Why? Here I draw from my previous post – the elite Indian finds infrastructure lacking and hence his faith in ‘India Shining’ is misty (he would r

In the BRIC report by Roopa Purushotakhaman and Dominique Phillips of Goldman Sachs, India, Brazil, Russia and China have been touted as the economies of future. This comparison has caused many Indians to believe that we are at par with the other 3 nations. But all the other 3 BRIC nations are way beyond India as far as infrastructure is concerned. Also, if one compares the other 3 BRIC countries (referred to as BRC henceforth) with India, one would see some striking differences. Firstly, numbers of Diaspora are much larger for India than for any of these countries. Secondly, while the other three have relied for their current rise primarily on manufacturing outsourcing, India relies equally on services sector both primary services and outsourced services. Going a little deeper into the economic policies, one again notices a wide difference. India, in its initial years of development, did not invest in much on development of basic infrastructure like roads, water, and primary education

I don't usually visit my own blog unless I want to review my own posts. But a regular place I visit is Statcounter.com, from where I keep getting updates about the hit rate of my blog. It was a pleasant surprise today morning to find the hit counter clocking 6009 hits. Though I had an inkling that my blog had lately started clocking more hits per day, but little had I imagined that I would reach the 6K mark so soon (it reached 5K less than 2 months ago). It is also heartening to find that there are many people who regularly visit this place and it isn't just random traffic which has accelerated the hit rate. I initially started blogging just as an extension of my hobby of Writing . I found it a good way of sharing my hobby with the world - but it soon became a pastime, habit and passion! Hobby as it might be, but it feels great everytime I get a message from a regular reader, or find the hit counter running at high-speeds. I have made many new friends because of this blog, an