India vs. China
We are back to the States for almost 2 weeks. Now I have time to recall all my corporates visits, and share my comments to China team. Many corporate visits diversifies from a service, industrial companies to NGO organizations, especially the visit to Dharavi slum. Many people know Dharavi as the “largest slum in Asia” where many poor people live and work. They live in a dark, wet, dusty living area. Attending the talk presenting by Dr. Vishnu Swaminathan – Ashoka Innovators for the Public – we said Dharavi,a slum. Dr. Vishnu disagreed because Dharavi is generating profits, and creating many jobs for huge number of working people. A whole family with three generations are living in very small area – only several meter squares. It is a surprise that people are living in dirty living conditions, but most of residents look very happy. Most children speak English very well. After discussing with China team, it seems that there are many NGO organizations in India comparing to China. Indian government supports NGO. For example, Salaam Bombay Foundation, enrolled 58,000 children in their Super Army Program to increase tobacco awareness amongst children.
Corruption is still a main issue in both China and India, but it is in different form. However, corruption is a huge barrier for India transforming into a developed country. Bribes are normal issues discussing on daily newspapers. Indian government invest large amount of money in building infra-structures, but many buildings are built with bad qualities etc. In addition, many talented people returned, and devoted their talents to the development of India such as Ashoka fellows – Dr. Shetty (Narayana Hrudalaya hospital), Mindtree, Salaam Bombay Foundation, Omnipresent Robot Tech, and many scientists working at GE (Bangalore) etc. In a near future, India will transform, and become one of the fastest growth countries in the world.
