Nano makes us proud

Nano is a big achievement not only for Mr. Ratan Tata and the TATA group but also for India. Nano has been launched at a time such that it can change the rules of the game in the Global Automobile Industry. As an Indian I am very proud of it as despite all the developments in the last few decades there are very few occasions where we can take credit for originality. We the people of India seem to be comfortable following the developed countries. Cielo was the first foreign car to be launched in India. Later on I joined Daewoo Motors and when I visited South Korea I realized it was one of their very old models and was being phased out there. Today we have many western models but the overall business strategy of these MNCs is not very different. Despite all the hypes about Indian IT industry we are hardly doing anything that can be considered game changing. The industry is very profitable as there is no capital investment, there is tax benefit as it is export oriented and the earning is in dollars whereas most of the expenses are in INR. Over the last few decades the basic business model has not changed even though the revenue has gone up many folds. On the other hand there could be a little shift towards BPO related income. There are Indians in MNCs who have contributed immensely to this knowledge industry. But the Indian companies are comfortable with the low risk and high return model where the payback is almost immediate. Nano has forced even developed countries around the world to take notice of our engineering capability. Day before yesterday even the president of US emphasized the fact that a country needs good engineers and scientists to remain competitive in the long run.

Looking at the increased demand for fuel and its prices, stupendous rise in pollution across the globe, traffic congestion in many cities in India and abroad, Nano couldn’t have come at a better time. Of course, it always could have been launched earlier. I hope that the fuel efficiency and emission standard of this car can be further improved. At present most of us may need a bigger car for weekend travel needs but Nano can very well meet the requirement of working days. I hope that our government will work with equal commitment and enthusiasm to improve our public transport system so that most of our travel related problems will be addressed in the coming years.