The meltdown in the world economy has ripple and cascading effects in Bangalore too. Although the IT and BT majors are putting up a brave face and claiming to the contrary, fresh recruitment has been kept in abeyance and several perks have been withdrawn.
There are no free lunches, as the Americans describe it.An entrepreneur who has business interests in the US said the country does not have skilled manpower and needs depend on us and others.
Yes, at a professional level he is right. But the reverse brain drain is already taking place and Chandrayan-1 has served to expedite the process.
Still we have miles to go before proper infrastructure is set up. India is an ancient country and has a population of billion plus, the plus being two million or so.
In certain pockets not much grows or can grow. So alternative modes of living evolve. Corruption is endemic and more than half of the money earmarked for development goes down the drain.
In certain segments, textiles for instance, exports have brought in the money. The software exports are much publicised but they do not count for much in terms of overall earnings. It has served the national cause in a different way: by projecting the country as hightech, and not merely the land of snakes and rope tricks.
One feels the impact on Dalal Street, Mumbai was the offshoot of fluctuations in foreign direct investment. In one sense they are flyby night operators.
Decades back, the massive withdrawal of foreign funds held in Indian banks led to a crisis. India then had to pledge its gold and obtain funds from the Bank of England. Compared to that, the effect today is minimal. Paradoxically, the conservative approach of Indian bankers saved the situation.
Yes, none can wish away the effects of the global meltdown, least of all the industrial undertakings here. The tourist inflow will be less, the hotel occupancy rates would come down and sales of luxury goods would suffer a bit. The real estate scene is dismal and may deteriorate further. Small industries depend upon large ones for orders and the large ones are already hit by slump in demand.
It was said in the days of Soviet glory: If it snows in Moscow, the comrades in New Delhi would sneeze. So Bangalore which prides itself on being a global city aspiration-wise will take a beating.
The effects are already evident in media. Advertisement spending has come down. And the mainstream newspapers are vying with one another to woo the ad agencies. The first casualty is the news component. There are more features than news and more soft news than hard news. And sensationalism a la sting pieces are the given.