Hi Marlon, How are you -- read something not too encouraging about your company -- hope it has not affected you
One additional reason for Taiwan's success in the electronics field -- most of the Taiwanese electronic engineers who were trained in the USA came back to Taiwan set up units to feed the US mother companies and then the world --of chourse the Taiwanese government very strongly supported and encouraged these moves -- Can we hope for similar development for India and for Goa in particular Cheers Aloysius D'Souza ----- Original Message ----- From: marlon menezes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, July 18, 2003 4:31 PM Subject: Re: [Goanet]INFRASTRUCTURE: D-Link's vision, Goa's gain... > It is great to see Goa on the technology map. > Ironically, I am in Hsinschu, Taiwan at the moment, a > few hundred meters from D-link's main production > center over here. Taiwan has been incredibly > successful in developing its semi-conductor industry. > Hsinchu is Taiwan's equivalent of America's silicon > valley and Goa's modest Verna Industrial park. The > government did a lot of things right here - it > provided the infrastructure, had a good university > close by and cultivated close ties with US industry. > But, then, it tried to replicate this successful model > in another Science park called Tainan - but by most > measures it has failed to duplicate the success of > Hsinchu. The article fails to mention one set of > ingredients that is critical for success, but which is > very difficult to predict or control - timing and good > luck. Governments cannot do it all. One big reason for > Hsinchu's success was that it positioned itself as a > low cost high technology center starting in the mid > 80's, just when the tech boom was beginning to > explode. Tainan came in at the tail end, just when the > torrent of outsourcing began to move to mainland > China, coupled with the ongoing technology depression. > > > In the US, and in the tech industry in particular, > outsourcing to India (and China) has become mantra. In > the 1980s, the talk was all about moving production to > Mexico. Some polititians talked about the giant > sucking sound of America's industrial capacity moving > south of the border. Today even the Mexicans (and > India) has to deal with the intense competitive > pressure from manufacturing in China. > > Many, however, seem to suggest that the long term > economic challenge posed by India to the west is even > more insidious. So what if a lot of the manufacturing > capacity was moved to Mexico and then to China - > after all, there was very limited knowledge transfer > out of the country. Furthermore, it forced the US to > adapt to the new realities of lower costs overseas > (unlike perhaps much of western Europe or Japan) and > forced it to move on to new, more prosperous economic > avenues. Today, a lot of IT, financial and customer > related services are being moved to India. Again, not > a big deal as far as the US is concerned - it is > cheaper than having to import labor from India. There > is of course a lot of pain, with a lot of pre-existing > jobs in the US being lost to the cheaper but equally > productive Indian worker. > > The "problem" is that many companies are also moving a > lot of their R&D to India. Companies like GE, Intel, > Oracle etc are vastly expanding their R&D facilities > in India. Ask any professor from a reputable > engineering university in the US and they will > generally admit that most of their best students are > Indian (invariably from an IIT). Ironically, India's > inability to provide a decent education for a bulk of > its population has resulted in severe competition to > get into its top-notch universities, which has > resulted in this hyper-educated elite, which is highly > prized in the west. For the last 40 years, the US > industry (via its universities) simply imported these > workers to the US. They are now realizing that they > can utilize this resource even cheaper by simply > getting their work done in India. As we all know, it > is ironic that while countries like the US long ago > recognized the value of India's educated elite, most > Indian companies did not or were unable to do so. > Happily, even this is changing today, with many Indian > companies gaining the confidence (or the ability) to > invest in R&D to create their own products and > services. Take for example Tata and its Indica > automobile. This is by no means a cutting edge > product, but it invested in developing its own > internal technical capabilities to develop this car. > To be fair, India has had decent R&D capabilities for > a long time, but most of it was limited to the > relatively minor military-industrial complex. > > Commercial R&D in India is still at an infancy stage > and it will probably be at least a decade if not much > longer before the business of intrinsic knowledge > creation becomes significant here. Another issue is > the "quality" of the R&D. What is cutting edge for one > country may be on the path of become generic in > another country. Sure, India is currently producing > great engineers and IT talent, but this assumes that > these services will continue to remain on the bleeding > edge of the intellectual knowledge and economic value > chain. However, it is possible that the next drivers > for knowledge may lie in health care, biotechnology or > issues related to the environment or who knows what. > The rich fast growing aging population in the > developed world may soon begin to put greater economic > value to these issues rather than the horsepower > ratings of their cars or the mhz rating of their > computer. If this is the true, then the so-called > migration of R&D to India may not be as cataclysmic > (to the west) as it seems. Only time will tell. > > Marlon > > --- "Frederick Noronha (FN)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > > Do you agree with the perspective below? Tell us why > > (or why not) at > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] --FN > > > > D - L i n k ' s v i s i o n , G o a ' s g a i > > n > > > > Infrastructure is by no means the only > > factor that determines the success of > > a company. Nonetheless it is one of the > > most crucial factors on the back of the > > management's mind -- be it access to > > highly skilled people or advanced > > telecommunications capacity or something > > as banal as power availability. We take > > a look at D-Link India's experience in > > establishing its manufacturing plant in Goa. > > > > WHEN D-LINK TAIWAN was considering taking up a stake > > in Smart Link India and > > setting up D-Link's Indian subsidiary, the company > > assured Smart Link's > > promoter K R Naik that a joint venture would take > > place only after > > satisfactory commissioning of the project as per its > > stringent standards. > > > > The company's first facility in Goa, to manufacture > > networking products, was > > set up at the Verna Electronics City promoted by the > > Goa Industrial > > Development Corporation (GIDC). When D-Link > > Corporation delegates visited > > India to close the deal two years later, they were > > impressed with the > > facility. > > > > Let's take a look at the infrastructure requirements > > at D-Link's facility in > > Goa and see how the state fares on this front. > > > > LAND > > > > For D-Link's manufacturing facility, land at the > > Verna Electronic City was > > made available by the GIDC as part of its agenda to > > promote the > > industrialisation of Goa. Plant 1 was built over a > > 20,000 sq.ft area. Plant > > 2 was subsequently built over 30,000 sq ft area, > > while Plant 3 was > > commissioned on an adjoining plot measuring 70,000 > > sq ft. Thus land was > > never a restriction for growth. Also, the land rates > > offered were reasonable > > and not as expensive as in some other state IDCs. > > > > TAXATION > > > > D-Link India was offered a five-year Income Tax > > exemption (for manufactured > > items) apart from a 10-year Sales Tax exemption > > offered by the government of > > Goa. Similar exemptions were offered on the set-up > > of the second and third > > manufacturing plants in 1999 and 2001. > > > > TELECOM > > > > As yet, Goa's telecom infrastructure is nothing to > > write home about. Data > > leased lines are available through Goa Telecom and > > D-Link has availed of > > this facility to connect the Goa plant to its Mumbai > > headquarters and > > Bangalore set-up. Though the available leased line > > is sufficient for a > > manufacturing facility, it would be insufficient for > > a service facility > > where the amount of data and voice communication is > > huge. International > > private lease circuits presently do not land at Goa > > and IPLC gateway is not > > available. > > > > TRANSPORT > > > > The IT industry is greatly concentrated in the West > > and South of India and > > Goa being centrally located with respect to these > > regions and being one of > > India's favourite tourist destinations, > > transportation is the least of > > worries. > > > > Goa is well connected to other parts of the country > > through road and air > > routes and even rail (thanks to Konkan Railway). > > There are plans to start > > super fast train services to Mumbai. However, local > > transport facilities, > > which are quite expensive, leave a lot to be > > desired. > > > > The presence of a port in Goa helps in the import > > and export of material. > > Custom clearance at the Goa port has been found to > > be much faster than > > clearance at the Mumbai port -- due to lesser > > traffic and more efficient > > officials. It has been noticed that the arrival time > > of cargo at the port > > and the arrival time at the factory is less than 24 > > hours. > > > > POWER > > > > Like most Indian states, power infrastructure in Goa > > is not up to the mark: > > the state relies entirely on tapping power from the > > national grid. The > > government of Goa has taken steps to improve power > > generation by inviting > > private parties. > > > > D-Link has not been adversely affected by Goa's > > uncertain power situation > > due to the presence of Reliance Salgaocar Power > > Company (RSPCL) from which > > it draws its power requirements. Power tariffs hence > > have been higher than > > that present in other states. > > > > HUMAN RESOURCES > > > > Goa has a vast resource of English-speaking people, > > which reduces > > communication hurdles. It has been observed that the > > work culture is very > > good. Goans have been found to be committed, well > > behaved and hard working, > > helpful and well spirited. > > > > The manpower available is suitable for the following > > jobs: technicians, > > service and support engineers, maintenance > > personnel, who are required for > > day-to-day functioning of the plant. > > > > Though personnel required to design application > > software are easily > > available, the same cannot be said about hi-tech > > manpower required for core > > software programming. Moreover, IT professionals > > generated by the > > university and recognised colleges every year > > migrate to greener pastures in > > search of opportunities. This is a key weakness as > > manpower is the key USP > > in the IT business. > > > > BUREAUCRACY > > > > The biggest advantage that Goa offers is the lack of > > bureaucratic hurdles. > > Red tapism, which is rampant in other states, can > > actually kill a project in > > its infancy itself. The degrees of bureaucracy > > encountered in metros like > > Delhi is absolutely absent in Goa. > > > > The other factors that D-Link has come across by > > being in Goa are: > > > > o Goa being a very popular tourist destination, > > there is > > no dearth of hotels and other entertainment > > avenues. This > > forms a very important criterion when you have > > plenty of > > foreign visitors. Also, Goa offers immense > > opportunities > > to hold seminars, conventions and other annual > > meets. > > > > o The government has shown an active interest in > > promoting > > the IT industry. Unlike other governments, the > > Goa > > government has been sensitive to the demands of > > the > > IT industry and has been very cooperative in > > taking > > necessary steps to boost the IT industry. (ENDS) > > > > Express Computer * April 28, 2003 * > > www.expresscomputeronline.com > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > soc.culture.indian.goa, the first-every Usenet > > newsgroup on Goa. > > Visit http://groups.google.com,search for > > soc.culture.indian.goa > === message truncated === > > > ########################################################################## > # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # > # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # > # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # > # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # > ########################################################################## > ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
