Tata Corus Deal - India can do it

India has blasted onto the global scene with the Tata Corus Deal. Ratan Tata has made an Indian company the 5th largest producer of steel in the world. This is very important for a number of reasons. We Indians are so used to Indians losing on the Worldstage. Starting with Indian Cricket, Sania Mirza, the list goes on and on, Indians have always been 'also ran'. Indian businessmen will hopefully start showing that India can win on a global scale. Not just because IT has done India proud but because India can run a global company better than anyone else.

The downside maybe that India and China are the Worlds fastest growing markets. The world is coming to India to benefit from this fast growth. An Indian company going to Europe where there is slow growth may not sound like smart business. But one must think that this is high value steel. Corus sells steel to the most sophisticated customers in the world in Europe. Tata can emulate the quality required by these customers and follow the same quality standards in India. This will reduce Indian imports. All new expansion for Corus will be done at a lower cost in India.

Gradually Tata can make Corus the 2nd or 3rd largest player in the steel Industry by using low cost Indian manufactured steel at the same quality.

Tata needs to use any downturn in the steel Industry to consolidate in India and gradually shift all new manufacturing to India. Corus will not allow replacement of Corus steel manufacturing in India. But in a downturn there will be no choice but to downsize.

Tata steel can expand in fast growing markets with the Corus quality manufactured in India. An Indian Company can make this deal work by strategic management.

Shame on the sceptics. An aggressive Tata group can show the rest of India the way into the future for Indian Industry

Mirwaiz Farooq - Smart or A betrayer?

Mirwaiz Farooq is a smart young Kashmiri leader. He understands that the one thing people want in general is fulfillment

To get fulfillment people need jobs and a sense of purpose and a future. A future the kashmiris will get if they join the software revolution with India. Taking advantage of Indias newfound power in the world. A readymade solution for the disenfranchised Kashmiris

India has the power to pour jobs into Kashmir. To keep Kashmiris gainfully employed. To give them a sense of purpose and fulfillment

This cannot be achieved by accepting Pakistani militants. This cannot be achieved by militancy at all. The violent method as a solution to any kind of problem has been destroyed by the Al Quaeda.

To be like the AL Quaeda is now an insult to civilization. Muslims are generally criticised for being a supplier for Al Quaeda. Even though most of them have nothing to do with Al Quaeda

Mirwaiz has seen this injustice. He wants the best for muslims in Kashmir. He has proved that young leaders are the way of the future. He has chosen the path of jobs and development. Hopefully he will never go back to the pointless path of war as a solution. Lets us wait and see

Shilpa Shetty - WIll she survive after the exit of Jade Goody?

Shilpa Shetty was a victim of her own countrys paranoia about racism. Now that Jade Goody who has survived by making 'controlled' controversial statements is out will she survive?

Jade Goody is used to the limelight. She thrives in the limelight. She knows how to handle fame.

Shilpa Shetty however is a stranger to controversy. She has been taught to avoid controversy. She has been taught to be 'nice'

TV audiences are bored by such people. People like Shila Shetty. People who do not have the guts to be controversial. People who would rather be loved than famous

Jade Goody has earned over 8 million pounds from being controversial. And interesting.
From goading innocent media like those in India. By carefully placed controversial statements. The Indian media and people do not have a clue that they are being taken for a ride.

Will Shilpa Shetty have a chance of getting another season at Big Brother without her nemesis Jade Goody?

Only time will tell

Shilpa Shetty - Disgraceful behavior- by Indians!

Shilpa Shetty has been paid a rumored 60 Lakhs to be humiliated by a couple of very average British women. The reason she was paid more than Jermaine Jackson (Michael Jackson's brother) is because she agreed to be humiliated whilst he didint.

Now look at the reaction in India. The media jumps on the story for ratings of course. (Feeding on the inferiority complex Indians have when it comes to whites) But look at the Indian politicians! The public holds rallies to protest a rich girl doing what she was paid to do? The people protesting are the same people who are humiliated everyday!

Just the recent past has examples of humiliation in our own country. For example when the villagers of Nithari were humiliated by the police in Noida.(By not even registering their complaints) When the Dalits are humiliated by the upper castes everyday all over India. When the poor are humiliated by the rich in Singur by Mamata Banerjee (denying them the chance to get jobs in a big company).

Where was everyone's indignation then? Where were all these self righteous people then?

When the people of Kolkata protested against George Bush and called him a dog (what a welcome!). When the Palestinians danced in the streets after 911. When the Iraqis put a doormat with Bushs photograph at the Hotel AL Rashid in Baghdad so everyone would step on him. Did the Americans hold protests? Did the British protest?

Why dint they protest?

Because they were far above these people. Thats why.

The British people calling Shilpa Shetty names are very average people who will do anything they are paid for. Jade Goody (not so 'goody goody' really) who has called Shilpa Shetty names has received 8 million dollars for the show so far. If she stops calling people names she will lose that money. This show was her meal ticket. Thanks to the Indian media she has rocketed to fame. We will be forced to hear a lot more from her.

Shilpa Shetty has just sealed her own fate with this one act. She will move from a largely average actress to fame and fortune. Not for her superior acting abilities but thanks to Jade Goody. She will raise her price and make pots of money.

The media has received the highest ratings for this unnecessary controversy. So everyone has exploited the Indian Inferiority complex vis a vis white people for personal gain.

Maybe this will teach the average Indian a lesson. Dont get taken for a ride by the media and vested interests.

When we protest in the streets and involve our politicians we are showing how small we really are. That we are affected by what an average uneducated British woman on the street says about an actress . An actress who has been paid to appear in the show.

Is it that easy to make money? The promoters of the show definitely knew they would get huge ratings from the Indian public should they do this. Or else they would not have paid her so much money. And the Indian media and public fell for it

All I have to do is to get Mallika Sherawat to be insulted by a street dog in Britain. The ratings will make me an overnite millionaire

We need to grow up. We are no longer the poor starving people of yesteryear. We are a proud nation. We cannot react to any nonsense the media goad us with. Even if the perpetrators are white.

Even if they ruled us once upon a time.

And let the media react the same way next time a cop insults a dalit. Even when the dalits' child is not one of 30 who have been beheaded by a serial killer.

Nithari, Mukstar. Reasons why serial killers are running rampage all of a sudden

Nithari, Mukstar and who knows where next? But what is going on? Why are serial killers surfacing suddenly? What is provoking them? Why now?
India has a large bubbling problem. It has been around for the last two decades. Growing gradually. Threatening disaster. Now it has reached proportions where it is affecting society. It will only get worse. It may be the single worst problem we face in the future. The solution is not going to be quick. It is not even an India specific problem. China and Korea suffer from this problem too. So it will affect the entire world.

It is the female to male ratio.

India has 911 females to every 1000 females. In some states it is less than 900. This is a staggering statistic and very worrisome. It is even worse than our population problem.
Action has to be taken immediately to reverse this. But what kind of action?

The female child has got to be celebrated. Banning abortion of female foetuses may be too drastic but should be considered. Strictest checks on Ultrasound clinics should be mandatory. Income tax raids on Ultrasound operators and entrapment should be mandatory. They should not be allowed to destroy our society.

This is not a problem we can take lightly. China, Korea and India and any other country facing this problem have to meet to discuss this specific issue. This will be a worldwide issue very shortly since India, China and Korea have a huge percentage of the world population.

Why do women abort female foetuses? This problem should be discussed threadbare. Dowry given by males to get brides will soon become commonplace. This should be allowed. Then the abortion of female foetuses will be stopped

These may be radical views but should be discussed. This problem has been swept under the carpet too long. Or else we will have a hundred more Nitharis and Mukstars

Singur - Just how stupid is Mamata Banerjee?

West Bengal one of the lowest per capita incomes in the country. Next only to Bihar. The bengalis are some of the smartest people in the country. But they have to leave the state in droves to get jobs. Because unfortunately all these years they elected the communists to rule over them.

Bihar has little governance. West Bengal has too much. The bengalis are embarassed to be in the same boat as Bihar. After all they are so smart. With all their literacy and discussions. But they couldint admit they had made a mistake by electing the communists all these years. So they elected Buddhadeb to be their chief minister.

Buddhadeb Bhatacharya is a closet capitalist. A spy in the ranks of the commies. And he as at the top! He beleives in capitalism. He beleives in private Industry. Most of all he beleives West Bengal should get out of the boat they share with Bihar.

Mamata Bannerjee is the only opposition the communists have in West Bengal. But she forgot that 'opposition' means that you have to offer an alternative to the 'Status Quo'. So instead of differentiating herself from the communists who were ruining West Bengal all these years she did the opposite. She became more like them than they were!

When she was railway minister she ruined the railways. She refused to raise fares. She raised frieght rates which were already too high. Since freight was used by the rich but fares were for the poor. So the companies that used railway freight started using the roads for transport. The railways ran out of money. Accidents increased. Since they did not have the money for maintenance. All thanks to Mamata.

Then Laloo came along. He ran the railways better than she did! How could a man who has ruined his own state run the railways better than Mamata?

The role of the opposition is to prove that you have better ideas than the ruling party. Every time the ruling party makes a mistake you say you would NEVER have done that. But while Bengal was burning all these years poor Mamata Banerjee never thought of advocating capitalism. Seems simple one would think. Ruling party communist. West Bengal poor. Let me try capitalism. But Mamata Banerjee is defintely not one of the smart ones.

Mamata actually beleived the communists were winning elections because they were communist. Even after Buddha came and showed that he was more capitalist than any communist! Is Mamata Banerjee really that stupid? Let me demonstrate

West Bengalis are salivating for jobs. They are fed up of leaving the state to get good jobs. Who wants to leave home if you dont have to? So they love Buddha.
Buddha knows why they like him. Because hes a capitalist!

So Buddha invites private Industry to Bihar. West Bengal hasint got an Industrial project in a long long time. Who wants to do private business in a communist state? But Big Business knows Buddha is a spy. He told them. They know how many votes he got in the last election. And they know the bengalis love their spy. After all the Bengalis are too embarassed to admit they made a mistake. They supported the communists for too long after land reforms were over. But their only other option was Mamata. And she was more communist than the communists!

So they elected Buddha and the communists again. In resounding numbers. But Buddha made a mistake. He thought he was still communist.( Who can blame him? Hes surrounded by communists) He took land from farmers. That is the communist way. They think they are dictators.

He should have allowed farmers to form associations. Then invite bids from farmers associations. The lowest bid gets to sell the land to the Tatas. It would have been their offer. Not his demand.

Mamata Banerjee saw his mistake. But unfortunately she is Mamata Banerjee. She did not know how to take advantage of it. She did not propose any alternate solution. She still thinks Buddha is a commie. And she has to be more commie. She thinks she is like an athlete and has to run faster than the other competitors. She forgot that in politics you have to run the other way around! She never remembers that she is the opposition. And the opposition has to be different and not offer more of the same.

Many of Buddhas colleagues are real communists. They oppose private Industry. But they are in a quandary. If they protest they are in the same boat as Mamata. But she is the opposition. What do they do?

Finally there is the poor Bengali people. The Bengalis are hopping mad. Will this be their last chance to get jobs? 'Why is Mamata behaving like a communist?', they scream! Will they have to sit and watch as the rest of the country progresses? Mamata is stopping their only chance for progress! She is stopping their favorite spy, Buddha's efforts to deliver them out of the mess they are in. So they are sure to vote out Mamata Banerjee.

Poor Mamata Bannerjee. Will she get any votes at all in the next election? Maybe a few from the old guard communists. Or she may become smart. Maybe she will get a brain transplant!

Youtube - The Gandhi Video - Is censorship productive?

The Gandhi video on Youtube has galvanised the government. They wish to ban Youtube if they do not remove the offending video. But is this sensible? There are several video sites waiting to get attention. If you ban something on one site you have just created a huge ipportunity for another. They will air the video and get a lot of visitors. In addition you have given the video a lot of free publicity. In todays world where advertising pays for the internet publicity is key. If you get publicity you get an audience. If you get an audience you have the advertisers. Simple.
So wouldint the best way to handle the Gandhi video be to avoid giving it free publicity? Censorship is a powerful weapon. It can be used wisely in rare cases. When could it be justified?

One must always remember that banning something gives it free publicity. Salman Rushdie would not be as famous as he is today without the Ayatollahs fatwa.

Society in general has proved over the years to be quite discerning. Take countries where there is no censorship. Have you ever heard of something awful becoming popular? Lage Raho Munnabhai was a huge hit. But if you try the offensive version of Gandhigiri I can assure you it will not get such a big audience.

People need to hear a new insight. A new point of view that highlights the truth. They will not tolerate lies. Give people credit. The only censorship that is worthwhile is not to let children who cannot make up their own minds view things that could pollute their little developing minds. But then they already get to see so much nonsense on TV. Smart parents dont allow children too much TV

But what about malicious propoganda? Should someone who deliberately tries to inflame communal tensions or motivate people to violence not be censored? Under that guideline people like Praveen Togadia of the VHP and several other people should be banned from speaking in public. But even if someone violent tries to encourage violence against another the law should take its own course. If it is proved that someones speech encouraged someones death the severest of punishment should apply. But then our courts should work well. Our people should be gainfully employed and literate.

Politicians have tried with food and liquor to sway the electorate. They figure that people are uneducated and poor and can be bought . Some of them think that an uneducated populace is easier to persuade. Especially since they have the money to sway them with enticements. But election after election has shown rich and corrupt politicians being voted out of office. Even the poorest and most uneducated people are no longer impressed by election day gifts. This is a sign of the maturity of our democracy. Of our people. They do not need people telling them what they can do and what thay cannot do. Leave them alone. Educate them. We wont need any censorship. Let freedom ring

Lashkar E Taiba in India - Why do countries support terrorism?

There are several reasons to support terrorism. America supported terrorists in Iraq when they wanted to drive the Russians out. They did it without indulging in an all out war. But it backfired and they ended up creating a monster. Bin Laden.
The number of troops they would have lost if they had fought the war themselves would have been less than the total toll of 9/11 and the Iraq war. And worldwide terrorism would not be a fact of life today

India supported terrorists in Sri Lanka. We ended up losing Rajiv Gandhi and several thousand of our soldiers. Was that worth it?

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been supporting terrorists. Saudi Arabia with funds. But Pakistan is the stupidest country of all. They allow terrorists to train in their own country! There are more PhDs in Pakistan in Islamic studies than science or any other branch of learning. It is easier to find a jihadi than an accountant!
Why would Pakistan encourage this? Because democracy is difficult. Providing jobs and running a decent government is not easy. It is easier to distract proples attention by trumpeting issues like Kashmir. That way people forget that the government does nothing to encourage development. Politicians can steal money allocated for building roads, water and sewage lines.

The people are too busy protesting danish cartoons, injustice in Kashmir (as if their own country is so just) and most of all burning american flags. Of course you can pull out anyone of those people burning an american flag and offer him an american visa. 9 out of 10 would take the visa happily!

Of course Politicians in our own country are masters of distracting the public. Our politicans have several tricks in their bag for emergencies.
When they are cornered for commiting crimes ---- Ask for a CBI enquiry. The CBI officers are hired by the government. They have not convicted a politician in decades. It is still an enigma to me how Shibu Soren was convicted. We all know what happened in the Priyadarshini Matoo case. And several hundred others involving anyone in power.

Recently the Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy was cornered after his son was caught on film vandalising a restaurant. He himself was caught taking bribes for doling out mining licenses. What did he do? He changed the name of Bangalore to Bengaluru. So easy to get people preoccupied on the merits an demerits of renaming a city. Never mind all the costs and PR minefields it creates. Do whatever you can but get the peoples minds away from the issues that are harmful to you. That is the Politicians motto. And of course. Make as much money as you can while you are in power. You never know when you will be back in power next.

This is why we need successful businesmen to enter politics. People like Narayanmurthy ,the Ambani brothers or Azim Premji. Who have sterling track records of running large enterprises. And more money than they know what to do with. Their only desire would be to return what they got. Not steal anymore money. That would be below their dignity. After all they know how to make money the proper way.

Pakistan, India and Kashmir - How do we elimininate infiltration into Kashmir?

We are one of the poorer countries of the world because of our faulty policies. But thanks to the IT boom we are definitely technologically advanced. Why not use this technological knowledge to good use? Why not eliminate infiltration from Pakistan occupied Kashmir into Kashmir?

We have devices like google earth. So we can set up towers near the border to make them even more powerful. Now give sensors to all Indians in kashmir who would be near the border. It cannot be removed as it is activated by body heat. This sensor can be sensed even during nighttime. Anyone without a sensor will be established to be an infiltrator. Even animals are given a sensor. Heat seeking devices will detect any unauthorised activity. Infiltrators can be wiped out in no time. We can surely handle the internal problems of Kashmir ourselves.

Once we privatise and become prosperous the people of kashmir will love to be with India. After all everyone loves prosperity. Look at all the people who critisise America every chance they get. But would kill for an American visa.

Kashmir should be given tax breaks and depreciation benefits to encourage industry to go there. Once they do so the industry in Kashmir will be awakened. Pakistan cannot stop progress in Kashmir wihout the infiltrators.

Is reservation the answer?

Yesterday I was witness to a speech by an amazing German lady, Dr. Hella Mundhra, who has started a school, Shishu Mandir, near Bangalore for underpriviledged children. This school takes only the poorest children from several villages and does not discriminate on the basis of caste or religion. There are 12 students in a class and no uniforms. An atmosphere of openess and freedom with discipline has been created. The graduates of this school are Engineers, MCAs, Diplomas, ITIs etc. The success of these students is amazing and simply goes to show that reservation is not the answer. None of the graduates of this school require reservation. Reservation would only question the legitimacy and diminish the value of the achievements that these kids have accomplished .

The government should study this school and incorporate the best parts of their programs, all over India, in all schools. Destroying the unity and diluting the quality of our students through reservation is simply not the answer. Finding new solutions is. And Shishu Mandir has definitely shown the way. When we have working examples of working solutions why take the easy way out?

Even our politicians who follow vote bank politics should realise that awakening the curiosity and educating children in our villages will be in their best interest and the country's best interest. This is the only way to harness the potential of our huge population. As Mr. Dilip Ranjekar , Chairman of the Azim Premji Foundation, pointed out at the same meeting- India has 16% of the worlds population and 1% of its GDP. This can only change if we educate our underpriviledged children and bring them up to par with the rest of the world since 70% of our population lives in the villages

Why arent we Cricket World Champions?

When we lose at the Olympics we invariably hear the excuse that the countries that win give more money to sports and hence have better facilties. We in India are poor, they say, and we have other priorities...

What about cricket? BCCI is the richest cricketing organization in the world. Cricketers from every country come to India to model in advertisements and make money. Their own countries do not pay them as much as they can earn in India. Yet who are the world champions? Australia!

Let us look at this irony in further detail. The World Champions of Cricket are undoubtably Australia. In Australia the most popular sport is Rugby. Then Soccer. Then Swimming. Then Yachting and only then Cricket! So an Australian teenager would choose which sport to play in that order. So the Australian who dint get into any of those other sports would end up playing cricket!

Now let us look at India. Cricket is by far the most popular sport. No other sport comes close. We have the most money. Even in England the stadiums are full only when India and Pakistan play. Yet the stadiums in England, Australia, South Africa look so much better maintained. The grass is greener and better looking. The pitches are bouncier and firmer.

More youngsters play cricket here than in Australia, South Africa and England combined. Indian cricketers are the richest, most famous and even the most sought after by women! Once again I ask. Who are the World Champions?

If money is not the motivator what is? Private enterpreneurs (advertisers representatives) have to be put on an advisory board to advise the BCCI on harnessing the talent that exists in this country. Ideas have to be sought from the public. The best ideas have to be rewarded ( we certainly have the money).
India have got to be the world champions. It is too embarassing to see us placed fifth among countries for whom cricket is not even the top sport. I once talked to an australian lady online. It was the day of the final of the world cup. Australia was playing to win the world cup. I asked her if she was nervous. She said she had no idea the world cup was going on!

Domestic cricket should be like American basketball. The internal competition is so fierce that they produce world beaters. The prize money for Ranji trophy cricket matches should be increased manifold. The BCCI should allocate a portion of their kitty to fund domestic cricket prize money. Then the TV audience will increase and interest among the public will be generated. Once sponsors come in the competition in Indian domestic cricket will be fierce. Then we will produce world beaters

High School cricket should be a focus. The prize money for InterSchool matches should be increased by several lakhs. In the competition that will ensue we can catch them young. Cricket coaching acdemies will sprout over night. Earlier we start further we will progress

Come on BCCI pull up your socks and stop politicking. Jagmohan Dalmia is not as important as winning the World cup and being world champions

The Nithari Killings- Skeletons in the closet in Noida - a case for capitalism not just capital punishment

When I see the apathy of the police in Noida where the serial killing of little children took place it sickens me. In the USA when Samantha Runion a little girl was kidnapped it was treated like a national emergency till the culprits were caught. Samantha was the child of a very ordinary American. Not someone wealthy. Here the cuprits were only caught by accident after they had kidnapped and killed over 30 kids over 30 months.

Some of the smartest people in world are Indians. Yet we one of the poorest countries in the world. A recent poll showed that over two thirds of qualified youngsters wish to emigrate to another country. Isint this tragic? But why is this happening?

Look at our history and the efficiency (or rather inefficiency) of our government institutions. The judiciary is so slow and lethargic and hence inefficient ( evident in the Jessica Lal case) . Why cant we simply have a time limit of one year for cases to be resolved?

Next let us examine the role of the Police (another Govt institution). It has been proved useless so many times. Corruption is rampant. Politicians demand bribes for plum posts from the police. And then ignore their lapses. Of course theres is a quid pro quo since the police do not follow up cases of criminal politicians. Both are happy. To hell with citizens who pay both salaries.

It seems simple. First make the police independent. And accountable. Like the election commission. Also the municipal corporations. Politicians cannot have a hand in the hiring of any of these insitutions. Police FIRs should be privatised. They never take FIRs so they can show a reducing crime rate. Thats why the 30 kids were not even registered cases! Private FIRs should follow a reward /penalty system. Frivolous FIRs will attract penalties. Convictions result in rewards for both police and FIR operators. This way there is no overstaffing. In every department jobs should be outsourced as far as possible. Problems can be fixed with time

Next let us examine the public limited companies (less than 2% earn a profit), roads, water supply, sewerage, electricity supply- the list goes on and on. Inefficiency corruption and lethargy stare us in the face everytime.
The losses of the public sector enterprises since independence is over 100,000 crores which is enough to have built the best roads in the world. Instead we have the worst roads in the world with a bunch of useless public sector behemoths that still lose money provided by the taxpayer

Now let us examine the IT sector. This is the one industry that has been left to run by itself with hardly any interference. Can you beleive that is only in 1991 that this sector originated? It provides India with half its total exports! Wealth and job creation, decency (Narayanmurthy, Azim Premji are examples to our politicians) are the hallmarks of this sector.
Imagine if the whole of India had been privatised rather than nationalised by Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. Where would this country have been? We would have been selling aircraft to America! Ships to Korea and even computers to Taiwan. Umemployment would have been a rarity. Poverty would have been a problem other countries faced. We would have felt sad for them for not having privatised. Like the way Europe and America feel sad for us

The worst part of all this is when I see communist governments like in West Bengal being elected. They are people who propose more government rather than less. Are they seriously trying to tell us that if we had the Ambanis and the Infosys of the country competing to provide us with water, electricity, roads and airports that we would not have been better off? Simply look what happened to the internet as soon as it was released from the hands of the government and it becomes clear. This country has been destroyed by the Politicians and the government.

Please let us privatise at least now with urgency. Let the next generation enjoy a rich and prosperous country.

Let us see the day when youngsters emmigrate to India rather than from India. Let us not see another starvation death or police apathy. Let us have a culture of efficiency and a Government that only supervises independent institutions like the Police and Defence. Then we may see our politicians do a decent job. We may see honest people becoming politicians simply out of gratitude to a country that has given them so much. Since there will not be unemployed and frustrated youth who have no other choice but to go into politics. And the Government bureaucracy will not have the control they have at present to take bribes to become rich

Let the atrociousness of Noida help us change our system

The Singur Affair - Where do we park these 1 lakh rupee cars coming from Singur?

Everytime I go out in my car in Bangalore I find it impossible to find a parking space. I find that it is easier to take an autorickshaw to go to most places in the city. That way I avoid the hassle of finding a parking space. What will it be like in future I wonder? Where will we park our cars? The real problem with the Tata-Singur, West Bengal project is not Mamata Banerjee's blackmail but where will we park all these 1 lakh rupee cars?

I had suggested several years ago that the government should encourage the construction of parking buildings. In public areas land should be given to enterpreneurs on a build, operate and tranfer basis. Parking on the roads in the vicinity of a parking building should be banned. 100% depreciation and tax free status should be offered to all parking buildings. Underground parking buildings should be given government subsidy

Our cities cannot expand since our roads have been planned so badly. I often wondered why New York and other cities in the USA have no telephone poles. They never dig up the streets in most cities in USA or Europe to lay new sewage or water lines or electricity connections. They have huge underground pipelines that carry Water , Sewage, Electricity and now even internet lines. They have even developed electric vehicles to traverse the length of these pipes for repairs and maintenance. The most interesting part is that they have done all this in the early 1900s. At least the new extensions of our cities should have had these ideas incorporated. Someone told me the reason why roads even in new areas of the city are so bad. The politicians force the narrowing of roads and collect huge bribes from the land owners who benefit

The highway between Chennai and Bangalore is so nice but the moment you reach either city the traffic is simply awful. Once you reach the outskirts of each city the nightmare starts. Just travelling through each city to reach your destination takes half the time it took to travel the entire distance between Bangalore and Chennai.

Underground railways by burrowing deep underground and crisscrossing the cities with subway trains is the only answer. Only the exit point for the escalator from the underground station will come overground like in London.

Our politicians have messed up our cities so badly. All new cities should be left to private enterpreneurs. Satellite cities should be setup 50 to 150 kilometers from the main cities. They should be setup like SEZs by private enterpreneurs. The private enterpreneurs should be in complete charge of these cities. They should be allowed to charge for proper Water, Electricity,Transportation and Sewage. Land appreciation will pay for the infrastructure. The better the infrastructure in each city the better will be the prices the enterpreneurs will command

If we build proper roads all over India the reduction in the consumption of diesel and petrol will pay for the cost of enhancing the roads. If our tax money is spent only on the construction of Irrigation canals, Metros in cities, Roads, Defense and the Police the resulting job creation will create a prosperous country

India Poised? How can India become great? Read on

I live in Bangalore. 1000 cars are added everyday to our city. The roads cannot be widened. Congestion increases on a day to day basis. A journey to Bannerghatta road that used to take me 20 minutes 5 years ago now takes me 1 hour and 15 minutes. If you extend this it will take me over 3 hours within a few years! And that is not hard to beleive if you see the traffic in our major cities. But what is the solution? Is there a solution?

One suggestion is to set up Satellite cities. These are cities setup between 60 and 150 kilometers from the main city. For example in Bangalore 5 satellite cities can be setup in five different directions. Preferably using barren land. If fertile land is used it should be only as a last resort. Even if fertile land is taken, unused land elsewhere should be cultivated to have the same production as the land acquired. Farmers should be given a stake in the new city if they so wish.

Once 5 cities are setup 5 enterpreneurs from each city with a sterling reputation should be chosen. Each enterpreneur should be put in charge of one city. A group of private citizens should be put on the board to monitor progress of the new cities. Companies like Infosys, Reliance , ITC etc with unimpeachable reputaions for project work should be chosen to manage the cities.
The cities will be built with private funding with the best infrastructure possible (the enterpreneurs will see to that). Water, Electricity, Sewage, transportation will be the best available. The enterpreneurs will make a huge profit on the surge in land prices in the Satellite cities. This profit will pay for all infrastructure spending they will incur. Their reputations will be on the line. There will be no government interference. Only regulation by private citizens and the media. Complete transparency will be mandatory. There will be no taxes since they will be given SEC (Special Economic Zone) benefits as they will require no external government funding. Only personal income tax will be applicable.

Each city will be connected by a superhighway and highspeed underground railway to the main city. The main cities will gradually decongest as the new cities will handle future growth. India will become a great power as it should. Just like the progress of the IT sector which was due to private enterpreneurs. For example private enterpreneurs will be able to see that by having proper roads the diesel and petrol consumption will reduce and pay for the cost of having better roads

India will be great as it should but not unless we remove government interference. Government funding should concentrate on 5 thrust areas. Irrigation canals, Metro railways in all cities, Roads, Electricity, Ports and Airports. All these projects should be privatised.