'Chak De India’ to our infrastructural backbone to make ...

Shiv Agrawal Saturday, 24 November , 2007, 12:03

There was a time when looking for a job was a difficult proposition. The only avenue available at the time was to either hunt for a reference or to stand in endless queues, toiling hard to be selected through a mindless selection procedure. The government was the single largest and most prestigious employer at the time and the best that one could aspire to was to clear one of the Union Public Service Commission's (UPSC) numerous examinations. The highest rankers made it to the Indian Administrative Service and moved from one plum posting to the other throughout their lives, while the lower rankers roughed it out in the audit and accounts or customs and excise departments. All the same, all those who made it to the hallowed lists of UPSC were fortunate enough to have an assured career with time-bound promotions, perks and career growth prospects. This was the India of yore - predictable, bureaucratic and if I might add, terribly boring. Contrast this with today's scenario - a young, vibrant economy with mind-numbing growth; a young, brilliant and discerning workforce that is today spoilt for choice. A paradigm shift in thought processes, which now move from stability in life to fast-paced growth - it is no longer about the IAS and IPS; it is now about the IIMs and the CTCs. Starting salaries are the new buzzwords and it is all about buying your first car and condo before you hit 25. Needless to say, all this change has not happened overnight. It has been a painstaking effort on the part of numerous entrepreneurs, professionals, bureaucrats and policymakers over the last few years. Our intellectual capital, which had been carefully nurtured over the years, enabled us to take a huge leap towards this end. The job market has never been this good. The 'war for talent' has enabled Indians to draw global salaries in their homeland - an unthinkable scenario even five years ago. No longer do companies enter Indian shores hunting for cheaper talent, services or manpower. They come here today to look for global managers and to be part of a phenomenal growth story. A political party overplayed its hand with the 'India Shining' campaign - little did it realise that the professional workforce that has driven this growth does not constitute the main vote bank of this country. The farmer suicides, the caste politics, the communal riots, etc do take the sheen off any such campaign, though the growth continues, in spite of these aberrations. It is like a juggernaut which rolls on relentlessly, unaffected by anything in its path. This is what makes this growth story so special. It is across sectors this time around - manufacturing, pharma, IT, outsourcing, retail, services - every domain is buzzing with activity. The stock market, which is often an effective indicator of growth, is holding on to unprecedented levels. The soothsayers have been predicting its fall for quite some time, but it always manages to bounce back even from severe situations. So, is there anything to be afraid of, or is it going to be smooth sailing all the way? I would have loved to say it would be a smooth sail, but unfortunately it is not so. The single biggest impediment in the face of our growth aspirations is our infrastructure. Our 'financial capital', Mumbai, is on the verge of an infrastructural collapse. The Mumbai floods are an example of sheer systemic breakdown. IT hubs like Bangalore and Hyderabad are incapable of handling the mind-numbing growth in population. Traffic jams, power and water shortages are energy sapping and terribly endemic to growth. The capital city of Delhi boasts of a state-of-the-art metro rail, but unfortunately, it is choked to capacity barely a year after being inaugurated. The Indian way of life is to adapt to the impossible and we are used to braving the 'Mumbai locals' or the 'Delhi potholes' en route to our workplace on a daily basis. However, this cannot be an excuse for inefficiency. The Prime Minister has set aside a huge corpus of funds for infrastructural development. But then, funds were never a problem. It has always been about 'getting things done' and 'doing it right the first time around'. We have a real chance to transform into a developed country within the next few years. Our professionals have already started to make the transition towards becoming global managers. It is time for the policymakers to clean up their act. It is time for us to follow what Shahrukh Khan tells his two star forwards in Chak De, "pass the ball to the one best placed to score a goal." In real life as in the reel, it is all about team work. The forwards have taken the first step, it is now time for the rest of the team to do their job and do a 'Chak De India' to our infrastructural backbone to make this dream a reality.