There is beautiful and cogent article one must read on the correlation of Infrastructure and Economic Growth (Article Link).
Today you drive on Indian city roads, where roads do exist, but congested, and you have no guarantee about the commitment that can be placed on reaching from point A to B. How will business people or entrepreneurs thrive.
Or if you go on rural roads, they are either non-existent or blatantly unmaintained. How does rural demand and small scale industry grow then?
There are many factors to focus on for development. But infrastructure is a no-brainer. The article I mentioned also highlights how the GDP growth, and traffic demand is of a cyclic nature. Likewise, how washroom, drinking water facilities at various points are paramount.
The Shiv Sena started the ambitious Slum Rehabilitation program to decongest Mumbai. I don't think it had the willpower to make significant progress. Today even their website (link) doesn't open! Here's another link from one of the developers involved in such projects (Builder website). Of course there were challenges, political lobbies and illegal activities happening there were being threatened. But tackling population growth is a different problem, first try to manage the population that currently exists, that was the focus! So it was a great step and in the correct direction. Build highrises, make way for transport.
Then there is sanity required in handling the private transport lobby. Look how Singapore does it (link). Public transport won't give good returns in countries with low population. But in places like India, they can be perfectly feasible. The Volvo AC public buses are a step in the correct direction to attract the upper middle class. We need to made owning private vehicles prohibitory. Lack of vision is allowing 2 million new cars to hit the roads each year (News Link)! We are ruining our environment, and thus our health and future in this manner!
The seventh pay commission mandating contributing salary towards health insurance is a step in the correct direction towards this. Not only does it get government employees access to sophisticated medical help, but also helps in hospital development in India.
And last must no the least is the job generation that it'll lead to, the way it helped America come out of depression and sow the seeds to make it attractive to business (Article Link).
Let this be the primary focus of Indian growth: Infrastructure development!
Today you drive on Indian city roads, where roads do exist, but congested, and you have no guarantee about the commitment that can be placed on reaching from point A to B. How will business people or entrepreneurs thrive.
Or if you go on rural roads, they are either non-existent or blatantly unmaintained. How does rural demand and small scale industry grow then?
There are many factors to focus on for development. But infrastructure is a no-brainer. The article I mentioned also highlights how the GDP growth, and traffic demand is of a cyclic nature. Likewise, how washroom, drinking water facilities at various points are paramount.
The Shiv Sena started the ambitious Slum Rehabilitation program to decongest Mumbai. I don't think it had the willpower to make significant progress. Today even their website (link) doesn't open! Here's another link from one of the developers involved in such projects (Builder website). Of course there were challenges, political lobbies and illegal activities happening there were being threatened. But tackling population growth is a different problem, first try to manage the population that currently exists, that was the focus! So it was a great step and in the correct direction. Build highrises, make way for transport.
Then there is sanity required in handling the private transport lobby. Look how Singapore does it (link). Public transport won't give good returns in countries with low population. But in places like India, they can be perfectly feasible. The Volvo AC public buses are a step in the correct direction to attract the upper middle class. We need to made owning private vehicles prohibitory. Lack of vision is allowing 2 million new cars to hit the roads each year (News Link)! We are ruining our environment, and thus our health and future in this manner!
The seventh pay commission mandating contributing salary towards health insurance is a step in the correct direction towards this. Not only does it get government employees access to sophisticated medical help, but also helps in hospital development in India.
And last must no the least is the job generation that it'll lead to, the way it helped America come out of depression and sow the seeds to make it attractive to business (Article Link).
Let this be the primary focus of Indian growth: Infrastructure development!
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