Re: [silk] On Innovation in India
On Mon, May 19, 2008 at 1:43 PM, Anil Kumar wrote: My response is in reference to Point - 4: I quite disagree with the 'less government 'support' the better' argument. In India, good examples (IMHO) are the development of the Information Technology sector, now followed by the Business Process Outsourcing sector, both having benefited from various forms of government (both Central and State) support including but not limited to support in procuring land and buildings, reduced to nil stamp duties and registration fees on real estate transactions, tax free income generation. There are a few other benefits and support on administrative and regulatory levels. This support (particularly from Central Government) is administered through the Software Technology Parks of India Scheme. Maybe some of these regulations were incorrect to start with ? or maybe businesses would have still come despite these regulations..? or maybe there are other regulatory mechanisms not directly related which are to blame...? Some years ago i was shocked to see five mobile operators competing successfully in Somaliland (formerly british somaliland... an un-recognized breakaway republic from Somalia... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somaliland), the telecom sector there had little in terms of entry barriers... all that was required was a single approval from a government functionary. This meant a lot of competition, low mobile charges (30 cents to call any country in the world...) and very low operational overheads in a country with very poor infrastructure. Compared to that neighboring Kenya had better communication infrastructure, but an extremely pervasive regulatory environment which meant that the 2 mobile operators had atrociously high calling rates. Note that Kenya has had a software-technology-park, nil-stamp duty initiative etc. for quite some time now... but the real problem has been the presence of other stifling laws and regulations...(for e.g. the city council / municipal council has some arcane laws/ fees / and powers which make operating any kind of business very expensive)
Re: [silk] Bush's Arabian visit....
a certain perl hacker is a strong proponent of the manhattan-jfk helicopter. he notes that at $99 it is not quite twice as expensive as a taxi, and takes 11 minutes straight to a gate within the airport. he gleefully recounted a story where a friend refused to take the helicopter, got stuck in rainy traffic for 3 hours, missed his flight and had to spend the night at jfk. It seems to be $159 one way now (minimum) at flyush.com. I got quite excited there for a minute.. Badri
Re: [silk] Bush's Arabian visit....
On Tue, May 20, 2008 at 12:48 PM, Srini Ramakrishnan wrote: It seems to be $159 one way now (minimum) at flyush.com. It's still very affordable. It's about $60 for a cab, and about $100 for a limo. For about $200 (including a cab ride from the heliport) it's quite a nice ride. Are you expected to tip helicopter pilots? Cheeni Don't they have motorcycle taxis ? ashok
Re: [silk] Bush's Arabian visit....
On Tue, May 20, 2008 at 10:56 AM, Badri Natarajan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: [...] It seems to be $159 one way now (minimum) at flyush.com. It's still very affordable. It's about $60 for a cab, and about $100 for a limo. For about $200 (including a cab ride from the heliport) it's quite a nice ride. Are you expected to tip helicopter pilots? Cheeni
Re: [silk] Bush's Arabian visit....
On Tuesday 20 May 2008 3:21:03 pm ashok _ wrote: Are you expected to tip helicopter pilots? If they look like they don't know how to fly, a few tips might be a good idea. Ideally these are given well before hitting the ground. shiv
Re: [silk] Bush's Arabian visit....
On Tue, 2008-05-20 at 09:56 +0100, Badri Natarajan wrote: It seems to be $159 one way now (minimum) at flyush.com. yeah, it was apparently $99 for a promo till oct 2007 [1]. and though it's an 8 minute flight, it's not a taxi, i.e. there are scheduled departures. -rishab 1. http://www.gadling.com/2007/09/13/newark-jfk-to-manhattan-via-helicopter/
[silk] What the Export Land Model Means for Energy Prices
http://www.investorsinsight.com/blogs/john_mauldins_outside_the_box/archive/2008/05/19/what-the-export-land-model-means-for-energy-prices.aspx -- Please read our new blog at: http://blog.prathambooks.org/
Re: [silk] On Innovation in India
On Tue, May 20, 2008 at 8:52 AM, ashok _ [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Maybe some of these regulations were incorrect to start with ? or maybe businesses would have still come despite these regulations..? or maybe there are other regulatory mechanisms not directly related which are to blame...? Recounting some entrepreneur's experiences in the Indian manufacturing industry : 0] gazillion taxes : - Any industry (be it chemical, pharma, food or industrial goods, etc...) are so heavily taxed under different heads that it make your head spin listening to it. The $industry-inspector is obviously king of all he surveys and his factory visits induces stress and a mad scramble to keep everything in order, with great care taken to not displease him. - the ITax is another area for harassment. - i am not even touching on the topic of inter-state taxes (sales, octroi, ...) and harassment (local police) issues. 1] Licences : Yep, the L-raj still exists and i'm yet to meet a factory owner who got it done without greasing palms or he should be prepared for raids on flimsy pretexts which of course leads to the cancellation of the licence. 2] Local laws : pretty much open game as it differs from state to state. 3] Theft and pilferage : Need i say more? I remember my 25-minute conversation with one government official (from an entrepreneur course for small-scale industries) who hemmed and hawed around the dangers/negatives that women entering the manufacturing industry would face and was very coy about uttering the word bribe in our conversation.
Re: [silk] Bush's Arabian visit....
ashok _ [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: On Tue, May 20, 2008 at 12:48 PM, Srini Ramakrishnan wrote: It seems to be $159 one way now (minimum) at flyush.com. It's still very affordable. It's about $60 for a cab, and about $100 for a limo. For about $200 (including a cab ride from the heliport) it's quite a nice ride. Are you expected to tip helicopter pilots? Don't they have motorcycle taxis ? They don't exist in New York, no. Perry
Re: [silk] On Innovation in India
On Tue, 20 May 2008, va wrote: I remember my 25-minute conversation with one government official (from an entrepreneur course for small-scale industries) who hemmed and hawed around the dangers/negatives that women entering the manufacturing industry would face and was very coy about uttering the word bribe in our conversation. The Indian arm of a company of a friend of mine had another official with no such coyness. He was pretty specific about the size and model number of the flat screen television he was seeking. Brian
Re: [silk] On Innovation in India
Brian Behlendorf [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: On Tue, 20 May 2008, va wrote: I remember my 25-minute conversation with one government official (from an entrepreneur course for small-scale industries) who hemmed and hawed around the dangers/negatives that women entering the manufacturing industry would face and was very coy about uttering the word bribe in our conversation. The Indian arm of a company of a friend of mine had another official with no such coyness. He was pretty specific about the size and model number of the flat screen television he was seeking. When public officials control what may be bought and sold, the first things to be bought and sold are public officials. Perry
Re: [silk] On Innovation in India
On Tuesday 20 May 2008 11:21:17 pm Perry E. Metzger wrote: When public officials control what may be bought and sold, the first things to be bought and sold are public officials. LOL - that is a quotable quote that I must remember and use. shiv
Re: [silk] On Innovation in India
ss [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: On Tuesday 20 May 2008 11:21:17 pm Perry E. Metzger wrote: When public officials control what may be bought and sold, the first things to be bought and sold are public officials. LOL - that is a quotable quote that I must remember and use. FYI, it is a paraphrase of something I heard someone else say, so I don't deserve credit for thinking it up. Perry
