Impressions of India

[sasguru]

So back from my business trip to Mumbai (also took in a few days R&R at the Leela resort in Goa, very nice).
Well, India has changed massively from my previous trip more than 20 years ago.
The airport is brand new, the roads are all new, new and impressive buildings everywhere, large shopping malls with international brands, a building boom that puts even London's to shame.
But by taking a walk you can see the old India of poverty, dirt and squalor still exists under the surface, coexisting with the new India.
If you are a professional it seems you can exist totally in the air conditioned new India, only interacting with the old India in terms of the servants/help.
But I think the biggest change is the confidence that wasn't there 20 years ago. Many Indians have been educated abroad in the US and come back and they're brimming with get-up-and-go.
The "bobs" we get here on ICTs are definitely the 3rd raters.
With its GDP growing exponentially, it's all for India to lose really.
They still make some extraordinary blunders e.g. when I was there was diificult to get currency since they had removed some denominations of notes from circulation (demonetisation) which affected the economy.
But on the whole India's free-wheeling enterprise economy seems to be more robust in the long run than China's planned one, albeit with strong headwinds of corruption.
If they addressed the corruption, that 7% compound growth pa would rise to an astonishing 10%, I've no doubt.
Fascinating place and one to look to invest in somehow if you are canny.

[Pip in a Poke]

Never mind all that.

The only thing that would get me there is some kind of assurance that standards of sanitaion have also dramaticall improved such that I'm not going to be at considerable risk of contracting any of the myriad exotic diseases that seem to be endemic over there.

How much time did you spend on the karzi?

[LondonManc]

So back from my business trip to Mumbai (also took in a few days R&R at the Leela resort in Goa, very nice).
Well, India has changed massively from my previous trip more than 20 years ago.
The airport is brand new, the roads are all new, new and impressive buildings everywhere, large shopping malls with international brands, a building boom that puts even London's to shame.
But by taking a walk you can see the old India of poverty, dirt and squalor still exists under the surface, coexisting with the new India.
If you are a professional it seems you can exist totally in the air conditioned new India, only interacting with the old India in terms of the servants/help.
But I think the biggest change is the confidence that wasn't there 20 years ago. Many Indians have been educated abroad in the US and come back and they're brimming with get-up-and-go.
The "bobs" we get here on ICTs are definitely the 3rd raters.
With its GDP growing exponentially, it's all for India to lose really.
They still make some extraordinary blunders e.g. when I was there was diificult to get currency since they had removed some denominations of notes from circulation (demonetisation) which affected the economy.
But on the whole India's free-wheeling enterprise economy seems to be more robust in the long run than China's planned one, albeit with strong headwinds of corruption.
If they addressed the corruption, that 7% compound growth pa would rise to an astonishing 10%, I've no doubt.
Fascinating place and one to look to invest in somehow if you are canny.

This is a direct result of the boom that you've experienced over there - engineering and other infrastructure projects now pay more than IT and the locals have gone where the money is, leaving ICT with the comparative dregs, which means that off-shoring to India at the moment is akin to commercial suicide and will leave you with little ability to execute.

[MrMarkyMark]

So back from my business trip to Mumbai (also took in a few days R&R at the Leela resort in Goa, very nice).
Well, India has changed massively from my previous trip more than 20 years ago.
The airport is brand new, the roads are all new, new and impressive buildings everywhere, large shopping malls with international brands, a building boom that puts even London's to shame.
But by taking a walk you can see the old India of poverty, dirt and squalor still exists under the surface, coexisting with the new India.
If you are a professional it seems you can exist totally in the air conditioned new India, only interacting with the old India in terms of the servants/help.
But I think the biggest change is the confidence that wasn't there 20 years ago. Many Indians have been educated abroad in the US and come back and they're brimming with get-up-and-go.
The "bobs" we get here on ICTs are definitely the 3rd raters.
With its GDP growing exponentially, it's all for India to lose really.
They still make some extraordinary blunders e.g. when I was there was diificult to get currency since they had removed some denominations of notes from circulation (demonetisation) which affected the economy.
But on the whole India's free-wheeling enterprise economy seems to be more robust in the long run than China's planned one, albeit with strong headwinds of corruption.
If they addressed the corruption, that 7% compound growth pa would rise to an astonishing 10%, I've no doubt.
Fascinating place and one to look to invest in somehow if you are canny.

I have been to India, many, many times, but not in the last 10 years.
Over that time, the difference between what was there in the 70's, 80's and now is quite astounding.

My Mrs is working with a guy on a start up over there, he also concurrently works on fairly lucrative contracts.
Very smart guy and tech savvy, makes you laugh when considering the absolute dross they send to work for the UK companies

[sasguru]

Never mind all that.

The only thing that would get me there is some kind of assurance that standards of sanitaion have also dramaticall improved such that I'm not going to be at considerable risk of contracting any of the myriad exotic diseases that seem to be endemic over there.

How much time did you spend on the karzi?

Zero bugs caught, unlike last time. But why would you in the new sanitised India?
That's my point.
I was reluctant to eat salads and the like, in the end I did with no issues, the 5-star hotels all apparently sterilise their veg, how I don't know.

[ChimpMaster]

No doubt you are correct in your realisation that India is coming of age and could be on the cusp of a massive upswing - if they can sort out the inequality, corruption and other issues. Saying that, we're not short of underlying problems in the UK either.

I think also, coming from the UK where everything has been deteriorating for the past 20 years, and visiting India where a lot has improved over the past 20 years, makes the distinction even more obvious. I hate to say it, but on a global scale it feels like we are well and truly f88ked here in the UK.

[sasguru]

This is a direct result of the boom that you've experienced over there - engineering and other infrastructure projects now pay more than IT and the locals have gone where the money is, leaving ICT with the comparative dregs, which means that off-shoring to India at the moment is akin to commercial suicide and will leave you with little ability to execute.

Incorrect. ICT is still a prestigious and high paying profession in India, it has much more status than here.
But it's in the nature of IT that there are few barriers to entry and so separating talent from the average is always a problem.
I was told that the best and brightest (from the top 6 IITs) usually go to the best unis in the States for postgraduate training and work for the facebooks and googles before coming back.
The not so talented ones are hired on a job lot by the Tatas and InfoSys of the world and shipped over to Europe.

[woohoo]

I think also, coming from the UK where everything has been deteriorating for the past 20 years, and visiting India where a lot has improved over the past 20 years, makes the distinction even more obvious. I hate to say it, but on a global scale it feels like we are well and truly f88ked here in the UK.

Sorry but your attitude is wrong, I feel like the brexit, trump stuff has given the ok for people who are naturally pessimistic and even a bit depressive to now go around saying doom, gloom and more doom.

UK has an amazing amount going for it and the same can be said for the US.

[vwdan]

Sorry but your attitude is wrong, I feel like the brexit, trump stuff has given the ok for people who are naturally pessimistic and even a bit depressive to now go around saying doom, gloom and more doom.

UK has an amazing amount going for it and the same can be said for the US.

It's almost like we live in a very rich, prosperous first world country with incredible health care, education and quality of life isn't it

[LondonManc]

Incorrect. ICT is still a prestigious and high paying profession in India, it has much more status than here.
But it's in the nature of IT that there are few barriers to entry and so separating talent from the average is always a problem.
I was told that the best and brightest (from the top 6 IITs) usually go to the best unis in the States for postgraduate training and work for the facebooks and googles before coming back.
The not so talented ones are hired on a job lot by the Tatas and InfoSys of the world and shipped over to Europe.

Not incorrect at all; I was told exactly that by an Indian guy last week.