India needs new infrastructure in several cities and towns, smart cities, toilets, highways, new trains, better roads, reduced traffic jams, less pollution and gas emissions etc. Politicians go all around the word and come back with rhetoric’s like “We want to make India look like Shanghai and Singapore” etc. It’s good to emulate foreign countries but even to achieve 10 per cent of what Shanghai or Singapore look we need to get the dynamics of it right. One was hoping that the new government will bring some changes through good governance. I am still hopeful but admittedly that glimmer of hope and the National Camaraderie we all felt seems to dwindle a bit. Why? Well the electricity tariff have increased, the prices of essential commodities have already gone up. Auto and taxis fares have increased even though fuel prices have reduced. Potholes continue to exist and the new political scams have started raising their heads on the fringes of the new government which is 14 months old.
Pankaja Munde, Vasundhara Raje, Sushma Swaraj, Smriti Irani, Vinod Tawde are all under the scanner but so far they are backed by the government. It’s a wait and watch scenario. The most heinous of it all – the Vyapam scam which is something they will have to watch out for although it had started much before they were elected.
Hope – we all live with that – so let us hope. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley says 10 km of roads are being built every day and within one year 30 km of road will be built daily. So this country by the end of next year will have new and renewed highways. Toilets and education programmes for the upliftment of the poor should be the priority.
Metamorphous is important within and the surrounding landscape. Change is the only constant. If India wants to make progress and get robust be it infrastructure or basics for the poor then this government must show integrity if it wants to change the macro-economic space.
Fortunately, we seem to be insulated with the Greek crisis because India does not have high and big ticket trade with Eurozone and now that the new Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank has opened with India being the second highest shareholder and 50 other countries joining the conglomerate .and many more nations pooling in by the end of this week, it would act as a buffer to avoid any major financial crisis and also help in building new projects. With an approval by the government of an FDI hike for retail inviting more foreign investors, one or less window clearances for investors, visa accessibility to Canadian and Americans Indians on day of arrivals should all open up trade and spends for us. So INDIA INC. seems poised to take a leap for a better future and encourage independent entrepreneurship as well.
Alka V Aswani
