In October 2008, India launched its first mission to the moon. Was this really a good use of India’s resources? I think not! It seems that India’s government sees such endeavors as a big step forward, when in reality India has bounced two steps back. Investing into a space program or building malls is like flushing money down the toilette. In a country where millions lack basic services, focusing on community centered programs such as Plan India would certainly be a more sensible and practical investment.

For more information on Plan India please visit: http://www.planindia.org/

I think you delineate well the infrastructure woes of India. And as you and I both know, these points are only the tip of the iceberg. I do want to stress, however, the importance of focusing on the rural communities. While health and infrastructure are like debating the chicken and the egg, I feel health issues should be placed first.

As you mentioned, running water is a delicacy in many areas of India and almost an impossibility in some rural areas. It seems that a balanced collaborative that included the power of the government and the efficiency of the private sector, could prove helpful to begin meeting the basic health needs (i.e. drinkable water) of rural communities and perhaps even prove profitable (in the sense that business and infrastructure could grow in tandem to meet the health needs of the people).

Were the rural communities to become the focus, fewer people would have to leave their community. Which means fewer people migrating to the major Indian metropoles and outskirts of metropoles. Which then translates to less overpopulation, less urbanization, less crime, less wear on current inner-city transportation, less dense electricity consumption, etc.

But that’s just a thought.

For now, I think people will continue to migrate to the cities and wear out the infrastructure until their hometowns are fixed and provide opportunities equal to that of the metropoles.