-------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Add your name to the CLEAN GOA INITIATIVE | | | | by visiting this link and following the instructions therein | | | | http://shire.symonds.net/pipermail/goanet/2005-October/033926.html | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- Goanet <[email protected]> wrote:
> Dear Frederick, > > I've read your article on the woes of Mr Manuel > Caldeira with great interest. I myself have been considering a > similar proposition bringing with me a substantial sum of > capital, the fruits of my life's efforts. I also have > expertise gained in my contact with the West which I would > love to share with my brothers and sisters. However, in the > wake of your article I have very, very serious doubts and > reservations about relocating now and will have to > reconder my position and plans. > Mario responds: > My advice to Mr. Anonymous is not to throw out the baby with the bath water based on someone else's unfortunate experiences. India is very much a new frontier on the world stage as far as enterprise is concerned, with all the costs and amazing potential benefits that any new frontier entails. > India, inspite of some premature self-delusions about becoming a superpower in the next couple of months due to recent economic advances based largely on the computer software, computer services and communications industries, is still very much a developing country compared with the west. The bureaucracy and inefficieny that throttled the country for it's first 50 years or so of independance is still largely in place, in spite of major efforts at liberalizing and freeing up the economy. So is the penchant of bureaucrats to accept "gratuities" to supplement their still meager incomes in many cases. > As one that lived and worked in India before giving up and leaving decades ago, I now see immense and impressive changes for the better in spite of all the problems one hears about. > To Mr. Anonymous and anyone else who wants to re-invest in India, the longer you have been away the more you need to re-learn about how they operate in India. Keep in mind that they've managed quite well without you for all these years, and will without you in the future if they have to. Most of the best brains in India never left it, and it's good to keep this in mind. > Find someone who already operates in the field of endeavor you are interested in and join them in a partnership of some sort. They already know the infrastructure, and how to grease the palms that keep India's economy flowing. In India and Goa, something as routine as a change in the local political power structure can make or break a business if the newcomers have some reason to feel slighted by you. Your old licenses permits etc. may not be worth the paper they are written on. You may have to start all over again with the newcomers. > Promote your western expertise with caution and some modesty - you may find them way ahead of you in many areas. Don't forget that they have been operating without the infrastructure that many of us in the west take for granted. > Finally, don't just give up before you have even started. However, treat it as any new start up operation and be willing to learn as well as teach, use respect and boundless patience, don't assume anything that can be verified, and you should be fine. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Goa - 2005 Santosh Trophy Champions | | | | Support Soccer Activities at the grassroots in our villages | | Vacationing in Goa this year-end - Carry and distribute Soccer Balls | --------------------------------------------------------------------------
