16 Jan 2008
Cadem's take on the Nano
It's not Tata, it's the govt, stupid!
Whatever else the Tata Nano may have achieved or not achieved, it has -- for the first time -- got the entire country talking about a car, instead of cricket or religion or politics. I thought I too should add my two-paisa bit to the debate. My credentials? My Indian passport, my mechanical engineering degree, and the fact that I have a lower carbon footprint than the average car-owning Indian -- I own a large gas guzzling car that I use a maximum of three days in a month. Most days I take a bus or cycle to work, a distance of 15 km from my home.
My reaction as an Indian
India has so far been known as a source of cheap labour, of a limitless pool of people who can implement ideas that other people have come up with. Vast segments of Indian industry today are based on services that involve making something that has been designed outside India, like automobiles and auto parts, IT products, garments, et cetera. The risks are lower here, but the rewards are lower too.
When you create something from scratch, the risks of failure are very high but the rewards can be very high too. We have become a risk-averse country and have forgotten the thrill of creating things.