Business Week has a pretty good story on how the Mumbai terror attacks might affect business in India. I’ve said for the past one year that India has a window of 12-24 months to get it’s act together to show the world it has arrived, my comments were more along the lines of corporate governance and the financial arena. But now, I think India has a very long road ahead and must address many things. The biggest issue on it’s plate is low expectations. People have no or low expectations of their government, hospitals, police, etc…people need to change their mindset. I’ve outlined some of the bigger issues that need to be addressed, these are not 6 month blue ribbon committee type things, but structural changes in the mindset of Indians.
- Pakistan – This issue is front and center right now and will need to be addressed before anything else can really happen. Based on the media reports it seems Pakistan bares some blame. Whether it’s going in for surgical strikes or all out war, something needs to be done.
- Politics – Honest governance is required and this requires more people getting involved in the process and not just sitting back and watching.
- Corruption – Let’s be honest this is India’s cancer. I’ve heard that 50-80% of all money is lost to “leakage” – aka corruption. Accountability and transparency can help bring this number down.
- Economy – The so called USD 5 billion stimulus package announced over the weekend is a joke. Spain is talking USD 150 billion, China is talking USD 586 billion and the US is looking at something approaching USD 1 trillion.
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