Can we touch the skies ?
Deccan Herald 17 December 1999
To shoot up, you need to put your roots deeper down, points out RAMESH G JETHWANI Infrastructure is the key to growth in the new millennium
AN ambitious, multidimensional planning strategy is required in Karnataka. especially in the metro city ?For Bangalore, to upgrade its basic infrastructure. Better civic amenities, all-weather network roads, with the help of modern technology and multi story car parking points at strategic points are important. Users will be more than happy to pay for it, rather than to park cars on the roadside. A large number of sub-ways, underpasses and flyovers, uninterrupted power supply, power generation capacity, with an adequate transmission and distribution network and serious measures for traffic decongestant, with a multi-modal public-transport system, rail and road connectivity, to reduce the ever-increasing vehicular population, by at least 30-40 per cent, can help to reduce the pollution, which will go a long way to make the state one of the best investment areas globally.
In fact, today, due to the lack of proper infrastructure, it is sending the wrong Signals to prospective international and domestic Investors, as Karnataka doesn't have adequate power generation. The generation now is 4,000 now, which is not enough to meet the challenges of the huge power demand. There is no international airport, the roads are in a pathetic shape, frequent traffic jams, rising pollution and above all only 1.35 million vehicles in the city emitting poisonous pollutants, will endanger the lives of our citizens, especially our children, causing chest-related diseases like asthma at a young age. Karnataka has all the advantages and can become a leading place for investments, due to its many inherent advantages, such as important places of historical and cultural heritage, such as Hampi and Brindavan Gardens; friendly and god fearing people, moderate climate and medical facilities. Besides, Karnataka has abandoned its natural resources, like top grade iron-ore and manganese mines at the Hospet-Bellary region, limestone, basic raw material for cement industries, a developed granite and quartz mining and industry, a large export-oriented garment industry and developing floriculture industry. Also, the 760 km Konkan railway line, Independent India's first BOT projects passing through the West Coast of Karnataka can further give a big boost to the economy.
The State's coastline, which can be commercially exploited as major tourist center, and further, a seaport can be developed in the North Karnataka Coast for faster global trade, as all these sector need better infrastructural facilities.
Further, Karnataka is being looked at as the ideal location f°14 high-tech industries, particularly in the field of IT/telecommunications, electronics and knowledge based industries, due to its rich human resources and high tech calibration, comparing well with any place in the West. Mangalore has world class scientific, management and technical institutes, a top global scientific research institute which are among the first five in the Asia, Pacific region, besides IIMs, leading business schools and a large number of IT and technical institutes. Hence has all the advantages of becoming global center and a powerful tool of economic growth.
The foremost point about Bangalore is that it is an important place outside the USA, for important and critical software development, comparable to any place in the West, and that too at one-sixth the cost. Today, Bangalore has about 40,000 highly qualified software and IT professionals and all the leading global IT companies have operations here. Bangalore's contribution to the global software and IT industry is enormous. In fact, global IT companies have realized the immense potential Bangalore has for investors, especially in the field of IT industries, the Internet and E-Commerce. The best example is the recent success of IT.COM-99.
In the future, the Internet will be used in a big way in the banking industry in the early part of the first decade of the next millennium. A new 1,000-MW thermal power station, costing one billion US $— (Rs 4,400) may not directly create more than 1,00.0 jobs, but it will create massive employment opportunities and economic growth in all sectors, with the development of a timely transmission and distribution net-work and the right investments in industrial and other sectors.
All major industries, like cement, steel, granite, garments and service sectors need a large, uninterrupted, good quality power supply, Which which will bring all-round development in the underdeveloped areas of North Karnataka, where all these cement and steel industries are situated. Bangalore and its environs have a well-established garment industry, which are labour oriented. They generate a lot of employment, especially for women. We export high quality garments globally, up-to more than Rs 1,000 crore annually. This sector has immense potential to grow, as due to non-availability of power, production suffers and due to the lack of an international airport, garments are exported via Chennai to Mumbai. Thus exports becomes expensive. The Bangalore international airport may directly create about 1,000/1,500 jobs, but it will lend prestige and a direct global connectivity to Bangalore and a big boost to investments and development of export zones/tourism /IT /software parks and a fast developing floriculture industry r around the Bangalore garment industry. Today, a large number ( of Bangalore's 40,000 IT professionals travel to the US/West and the Far East via Chennai and Mumbai. Hence they can save time and money. Seaports can give a big boost and act as a gateway to export and import activities and easy global connectivity to Karnataka's major exports, such as iron ore. They are at present exported through the long route of Chennai, and other East Coast seaports, at higher freight, thus making our exports expensive. Globally, it has been seen that better infrastructure encourages the service industry in a big way. This is an important employment generation sector for the skilled and unskilled sec-tor, and can be developed at a much lower cost compared to mega industrial projects. A major example is the USA, where the service industry is flourishing, because of excellent
infrastructure adding to a big economic boom.
Today's global scenario demands an-round facilities for prospective investors, such as modern infrastructure and facilities of an international standard, to attract investments. Investments have no territorial boundaries or friendships, they only want better dividend and the relative safety of capital. Infrastructure projects have massive employment generation opportunities during and after construction periods. They can further attract large investment opportunities with the creation of industrial zones and export zones.
Hence, a better infrastructure can improve the overall economy of Karnataka, with the opening of new avenues and vistas, for large investments in the industrial and service sectors, especially in Information Technology. It can also contribute to government revenues in a big way and bring all-round economic development, which can create employment opportunities for rural and urban youth, furthering the development of economically weaker sections of society.
- Ramesh G Jethwani Bangalore.
