India's Approach to Infrastructure Development Needs to Phase Out 'Quick Fix' Approach

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Even with India's obvious economic progress, there is a sizable deficit in infrastructure development in the country. Although various infrastructure projects are in different stages of progress throughout India, one resounding sentiment that arises from these projects is that India is unable to keep up on two fronts: the speed at which projects need to be completed and the expertise needed to ensure sound quality.

The Planning Commission of India estimates that approximately $500 billion of India's gross domestic product needs to be invested in infrastructure in order to wipe out the deficit by the end of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-12). The Planning Commission also envisages that in the coming years, private players will be involved in at least 30% of all the infrastructure development projects in India. Over the years, there has been a prominent increase in the involvement of the private sector in the country's infrastructure development.

In view of the projected growth in India's infrastructure development, Industrial Info Resources learned from prominent players in this arena that it is essential to understand these flaws and address them.

"We definitely lack the expertise that is required. With a civil engineering background, you are expected to know how to build a road, a house, a bridge and anything related to construction. Emphasis is not given to the fact that each one of these requires a specialized expertise," Manjunath Nayaker, the vice president, public relations for Indian infrastructure consortium Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises Limited (NICE) (Bangalore, Karnataka) told IIR. "Thanks to globalization, the latest technologies are available in the country. But without personnel qualified to use this, the maximum potential of the machine remains unused."

Quoting a survey conducted by India's leading software information agency National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) (New Delhi), Premchand Palety, chief executive of the Centre for Forecasting & Research (C fore) (New Delhi) and member of the National Board of Accreditation (New Delhi), said, "75% of India's engineers are unemployable, and in spite of possessing university degrees, they are unemployable in the real-world scenario."

"From an educational perspective, there is lack of good faculty. Moreover, an industry-institution interface is missing. The teaching here is of existing knowledge and not hands-on. Also, our system of education is such that only 11% of students enroll for higher education, whereas in China it stands at 25% and in the U.S.A. at 80%," Palety told IIR. "What we are completely lacking is numbers in terms of research-based institutions that accept merit-based students. Only when this is achieved, can we have qualified personnel dealing with infrastructure demands of the nation."

George Kuruvilla, a reputable urban planner and professor of urban planning at a Mysore university told IIR, "The problem with the professionals of today is that they do not have much exposure. Masters degree-level programs are not well supervised by the Indian regulatory boards, and degrees are available all too easily. Infrastructure development, to a large extent, requires urban planning, as well. The team needs to consist of specialists in urban design, traffic planning, architecture, as well as sociologists. The latter is meant to cater to the human component of development, which is often relegated to the background."

"When planning infrastructure, there is a need to create a projection into the future and test the sustainability of the project," Kuruvilla continues. "For example, in traffic management, one has to take into account motorized and non-motorized vehicles, as well as pedestrians. Often, this last element is deemed unimportant and left out completely. In cities like Bangalore, the annual growth rate of traffic is 8%, and this can cause significant problems in the future, when management is unplanned."

Reiterating this lack of focus and expertise in India, Nayaker says that India is a country of quick fixes. "A problem we face today is giving an immediate solution without thought on how it may affect things in the future," Nayaker explained to IIR.

"The chalk-and-board system need to be done away with. There should be increased exposure to technology," Dr. Balaveera Reddy, former vice chancellor of Visvesvaraya Technological University in Belgaum, Karnataka, and the mind behind the country's first e-campus, told IIR. "Talent in the educational field needs to be recruited from domestic as well as international sectors. A re-evaluation of the examination system is also needed."

While a change in mindset at the governmental and organizational levels is a unanimous thought, there is also need for change at the educational level. As a reference for comparison with international standards, a student requires at least one year of hands-on vocational training with machines in order to be eligible to apply for a mechanical engineering degree in Germany.

"Besides good training technically, there is a need for personality development for the professionals of today. A simultaneous course on application of their knowledge to the field is necessary," Reddy told IIR.

Palety concurs: "There are a few institutes in India that are gradually bringing about a change in the way they teach. For instance, BITS Pilani, some of the IITs and IIIT have ongoing research incorporated into their curriculum." In a bid to provide long-term solutions to the issues facing India's struggling infrastructure sector, Palety emphasizes the need for more research-based institutions and an open-book system of examinations.

"This will allow for a collation of knowledge and a practical application to a problem," Palety explained to IIR. "As a country, our education system needs to be less about reservations and more about merit and skill."

Nayaker too has a few suggestions, such as the possibility of opening additional branches in colleges to allow for a year of specializations after an engineering degree. "Government incentives to organizations that send personnel for expert training and possibly in the future, the private sector taking the initiative to send staff abroad for specialized training are also things worth considering," Nayaker told IIR.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. IIR's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.