There are perhaps just a couple of projects that have changed the dowdy image of India’s infrastructure in the past 10 years. For the most part, the Indian infrastructure story has almost been saddled with a continuing narrative: Crumbling roads, creaking bridges, dirty airports, polluted water and unreliable power. The $13 billion Golden Quadrilateral project — linking Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata through nearly 6,000 km of four lane and six lane expressways — was clearly one such project. In the very initial years of its implementation, it set a new benchmark in how a major public-private partnership could be mounted without delays and the stench of corruption. (Of course, it wasn’t long before some of that sheen quickly disappeared even before the learnings could be internalised.)
(This story appears in the 17 June, 2011 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)
The article is good piece of information. But it smacks of making a point or two about change of rule and some kind of procedural aspect. As is known to every commoner in India, every project in India begins in haste and the backend and front end institutions and functionalities are conceived only as after thought. Development function is not a race to Guinness book of records and it is the fundamental concept that all thinkers must be aware of. However, the real point about India Infrastructure is not one of what is the scale of financial resource/opportunity it requires / provides but how holistic the Indian experts and intelligentsia is and what they can understand about India and development paradigm. The global development history and evolution of development suggests that revolutions (Industrial Revolution, Green Revolution, Technological Revolution, Structural Shifts (Church to democracy, Imperialism to Sovereignty, Kingdoms to Republics so on and so forth) have guided the development and present status of the Globe in physical sense and Societal mental make-up and behavioral sense. These have provided treasure of lessons, pitfalls, bottle-necks, maladies, consequences etc that can guide the future development thinking. But, still the think tank and the society at large have failed to understand what development is? In the present context development could be defined as state of equilibrium among social, economic and environmental well being. This means largest possible proportion of population shall be able to live and lead dignified life which presupposes confident, healthy and secured living for all human beings (be it a district or country or the world as a whole. May be the millennium goals define this much better. But, is the Sovereign governance structures, systems, institutions, societal segments have perspectives and prescriptions with them for making development a holistic concern than a competing or competitive advantage process, like GDP growth rate etc?. Yes GDP may be an Indicator but not a goal. At best, say a research study may prove better the GDP, better the living of people and hence direct development with GDP increase as a strategy and nothing more. In the context of the present article and India the conclusion is development shall not be viewed as record of sorts, but how the development can be conceived so as to provide dignified living to largest proportion of Indian population that encompasses healthy living (Socially, economically, physically) and secured living for the life span.
on Jun 4, 2011