GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO PUBLICISE DATA TO IMPROVE CITIES

On a recent visit to a municipal school, I found that the most common complaint of all teachers is that they are so busy writing reports that they hardly have time to focus on their real job –teaching! This is common to each and every sector and employees are busy compiling reports. This made me think “what is the government going to do with so much data”?

This gave me an idea – why doesn't the government computerise all data and release the required information online? In fact the big cities like Chicago, New York, San Francisco and others are already doing it with great results.

A few examples of this are-

a.     Data on hygiene rating for restaurants which the food inspectors inspect will help citizens to choose where to eat and automatically all restaurants will “clean up their acts”.

b.     Response time of emergency services like police, ambulance and fire brigade at different locations so people know which city is better to live in. 

c.     Roads on which maximum accidents occur will give an idea to people of roads to avoid or drive safely.

d.     Data of accidents which had fatalities and didn't have safety compliance like helmet or seat belt will make people follow rules more strictly.

e.     Taxes collected by each area so people know that they are getting benefited only upto the tax collected in their area.

f.     Under Shops and Establishments Act there are a lot of businesses registered area wise and this should be made online. It will be visited more than yellow pages. Automatically there will be compliance to such acts.

g.     Another obvious thing to include would be the areawise crime against women and children. This would enable women to choose the safest areas to live in.

h.     With consumerism at its zenith, people have more than one car now which has made parking quite impossible in many city areas. A data of parking available per square feet of constructed space in different areas would help us in our decision to buy a house or an office. Also a data on the collection from pay and park would let us know which parking slots are most valuable.

i.     A study of the profitable routes of buses on BRTS and AMTS would help us know about the routes that are expected to be vacant for a pleasant ride to office or home.

j.     A data released on the performance of schools, both public and private, will increase the competition and urge schools to improve their performance.

Such data and others on similar lines would help citizens take right decisions about the city or area they wish to live in. This would also make other cities take care of their weak areas and bring in reforms.  

An example of data on US cities that the government releases from time to time in a bid to further improvement is illustrated in this figure.

How Can A Depreciated Rupee Change The Culture Of The Country?

The recent depreciation of the Indian Rupee will remain so for some time now. This devaluation will definitely have overwhelming effects on the culture of our country, some obvious and some not so evident. The expected outcome is:

a. There will be a boost in local tourism as the globe-trotting Indians (mostly Gujjus) will travel domestic due to the burgeoning expenses incurred on foreign travel now. Also foreigners will visit India more than before as it will be more affordable for them. 

b. There will be an increase in the number of unemployed youth as college education will not be able to cater to so many aspirants who have to give up their dream of foreign education due to the higher cost and opt for Indian education.

c. The substantial step that our country can take to stem the fall of the rupee is to increase the limits of the FDI. This would lead to an increase in foreign influence. 

d. I wouldn’t say that we will become more westernised, but definitely there will be the influence of any society that has loads of foreign exchange. These countries would most likely be middle-eastern ones due to oil production or Chinese for their manufacturing potential or US due to its patents. 

e. I can predict that there will be a confluence of cultures of all these foreign countries and they will try to replicate the ‘best practices’ of their country in India. 

f. One classic example of this culture change is reflected in the way in which the fast food giants like McDonalds, Dominos, Coke and Pepsi have changed the total Indian attitude to food and beverage. Fast food and quick service have become a rage with young India. Subway alone has 376 stores in 73 cities in India. No Indian company can claim such pan India presence.  

g. Indian Railways is among one of the major contributions of the British Raj. We can expect similar foreign influx to bring in benefits for our country. 

h. One more environment friendly effort, albeit forced, will be using less fuel due to the increasing price. We can expect more people to use car pools and public transport which will be a good turn for saving our country’s resources.  

i. BPO jobs will be back in fashion. It has lost its lustre in the last 5 years due to a strong domestic economy. Collegians would take pride in earning valuable foreign exchange for India. 

j. Imported cars will be prohibitive not only to own but also to maintain. So people who have already bought a high end imported car will selectively use them and may be sell them off. 

UNITED STATES OF INDIA – HOW MANY IS TOO MANY?

The British policy of Divide and Rule is not new to any of us. Our history books have given us detailed reports of instances where this policy was followed to create rift between people who united for a cause. The latest division of Andhra Pradesh in to two and the recognition of Telengana as India’s 29th state, raises a question whether Indian Government has learnt a lesson from the successful policy of the British and implemented it for its own gains? 

Previously states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh went through divisions due to pressure and uprisings that forced the government to give in to the demands of the people. When protestations bring rewards it is highly likely that others with similar demands will also begin their demonstrations. Past experiences from states of Gujarat and Haryana have taught us that such divisions have been fruitful and have led to progress if done following logic and not due to pressure. 

In wake of the division of states with many more impending ones, a question arises. On what basis should a state be formed? When Sardar Patel had formed the states of India merging the erstwhile princely states, he had grouped areas on the basis of language, culture and not so sound logic. The arrangement worked in a freshly independent India. 

In my opinion keeping in view today’s burgeoning population of India, states ought to be divided into smaller more manageable territories. But logic needs to be applied in such divisions to bring uniformity and progress. For instance we can see sharp disparity between states such as Uttar Pradesh with a population of 20 crores and Sikkim with a mere 6 lakhs. 

Another unfortunate part of divisions is the sharing of central taxes like income taxes, excise and customs with the states. The usual policy is to give the state a share of its collection. As a result Maharashtra gets the lion’s share as majority of registered offices of big companies are located in Mumbai. Whereas the factories which are located in far flung states and which actually are the main grosser are of no financial advantage to the states they are in. 

Culture, language and logic should be the basis of division of states with fair division of revenue to ensure further equalisation along with effective administration. 

United States of Ahmedabad

United States of Ahmedabad

United States of Ahmedabad

Taj Mahal: A Sound Real Estate Investment?

Wah Taj! Yes, like millions before me even I uttered this when I first beheld the manmade wonder.  Having been a real estate person for so many years, I had thought that I had seen it all. But on 21^st July 2013, I met the wonder of wonders that is truly a masterpiece, a class beyond compare.

The Taj Mahal is probably the single most popular building in the world and I am sure there is no one who has walked on Mother Earth who is not acquainted with this monument of true love. Folklore says that it took 22 long years to build the Taj and the estimated cost at that time was 32 million rupees. And no labour costs too which would have been preposterously high in today’s scenario. Indeed it is an insane value!

In my view a poor country like India cannot afford such luxuries. Even at the time when the Taj was built, the heavy expenditure made then cannot be supported. According to many like me, it is totally a wasteful way for money to go. In fact it is said that Shah Jahan had drained the coffers of India to build this monument. Showing his love for his dead wife is quite alright but spending the nation’s wealth in such a crazy manner is indeed deplorable. It is believed that his son, Aurangzeb, over threw and held him captive because of his foolish decision.

The rationale behind such a stupendous expenditure is difficult to comprehend. Probably this money could have gone into helping the poor or building the country’s defences at that time. Even an investment in improving agricultural productivity would have proved to be very sound.

I feel that if a democratic government starts building such an irrational piece of extravaganza anti-incumbency would soon come in to play and 22 years of construction would never get over. Not to mention that it would be labelled as one of the worst decisions.

Probably that’s what happened with Shah Jahan.

But hold on! Is the investment as frivolous as we deem it to be? On second thoughts the investment in terms of real estate may not actually be a foolish one. It has been about 400 years since the Taj Mahal came into being and has been unrivalled in beauty and magnificence ever since with no close second. Over these four centuries no one has been able to make anything even remotely as marvellous.

Today Taj Mahal is the icon of India and people from all over the world recognise our country as the place where the most beautiful wonder belongs. This iconic monument draws more than 2 lakh tourists every year from all over the world. During my visit, four busloads of Chinese and Japanese visitors arrived to gaze at the Taj. Just to mention a point here- the entry fee for foreigners is Rs 750 per head.

Ever since the Taj was made, it has attracted tourists. The controversies surrounding the Taj has further increased its value as a ‘must see’ place. It is a splendour that is found in each and every world tourist guide or any list of ‘Places to see before you die’. Recently a poll was held wherein people from across the globe participated to rank the 7 Wonders of the Modern World and unsurprisingly the Taj Mahal outshone the rest (the Giza Pyramids were exempted and included in a separate category).

In terms of revenue from tourism earned by Taj, not only the city of Agra, but the entire country has benefitted with the figures going up each year. There has been no recession or depreciation in the market in this regard. The Muslim countries have been bestowed with the riches of oil, however, they do not have the wherewithal to even plan for such a monument. No matter how much the Muslims hate ‘Hindustan’ this land is the proud possessor of the Taj Mahal.

                 India’s Top 5 Monuments

  

Revenues – Top 5 monuments (Rs crore)
	2011	Change%
Taj Mahal	19.9	15
Agra fort	10.4	-5
Qutub Minar	10.1	13
Humayun's Tomb	6.2	11
Red fort	5.9	6
Source: ASI

All the top ASI monuments listed above are in the “Delhi Circuit” and I am sure that without the Taj Mahal there would be 50% reduction in the “Delhi Circuit” tourists. 

Consider this: If a foreigner spends about Rs. 750/- for entry fee then he stays 1 day in a hotel for not less than Rs. 5,000/-. And of course he spends at the souvenir shops too, carrying home a piece of memory. This way even if we assume the revenues are Rs. 5 crores from entry fees from foreigners then approximately Rs. 33 crores we get additional foreign exchange as tourists spend 1 more day in hotel to see the Taj Mahal.

Looking back it seems it is the best real estate investment that any country could have made. Even Aurangzeb would have agreed with me on this! Shah Jahan’s name is immortal and so is his idea of tagging the wonderful monument as a tribute to his great love for his wife, adding the much needed romanticism that makes any monument famous. Agra is earning a lot due to Taj Mahal. And so is India.

Moral of my visit to the Taj: Investments in real estate - give you good returns over a period of time.