Why we do not need the Nano

Nano.............
Do we need the Nano ????

It should have been named Nono -- as in No, no, we do not need a cheap car.

Agreed, it gives a chance for those people who cannot afford regular cars to own one.
It allows people driving around on motorcycles and scooters to upgrade to a car.
It is convenient specially for ladies who do not have to bear the indignity of being crushed and jostled in a crowded public transport.
It also allows the elderly who have owned cars, but have to downgrade now for financial reasons, to continue to own a car.
It may allow three wheeled public transport (autorickshaws) to upgrade to a taxi, thus giving more comfort to the passengers.
It may even reduce the pollution as it is claimed to be a less polluting vehicle than the two wheelers.
It also allows Ratan Tata and his merry band of shareholders to increase their wealth.

Having said all this I say, it is still a bad idea to build a car which costs as little as Rs 1 lakh for the following reasons :

1. Where are the Roads ??? Everyone and their grandmothers know that the metros in India are in a serious state of collapse. Whether it is Delhi. Mumbai Kolkata or Chennai, traffic crawls in each of these cities. In fact twowheelers in spite of all their disadvantages are a blessing because they keep the traffic on the move. Imagine if all the twowheelers we see on the roads were to be suddenly and miraculously changed to the Nano !!!!!!!!!!!
Confusion, confounded. The streets would be jampacked, accidents would increase, hypertension would afflict all the involved drivers, passengers and pedestrians and the entire road infrastructure would fall apart.

2. The optimists would say that forget the metro cities, a cheap car like the Nano is meant for smaller cities and towns. Gosh !!! Have you ever been to Bhopal ? To Indore ? To Patna? To Kanpur, Lucknow, Pune, and other similar cities. Why these, our very own Kharagpurs, Barrackpores, Serampores and the others ?
Anyone who has been to these places will agree that the scenario in these bustling wild west towns of India is far worse than the metros. No sense of traffic, not enough traffic policemen and infinitely more of unruly and unorganised traffic. Introduce the Nano here and there would be turmoil.

3. Where is the money ?? With the new 1 lakh car, everyone who never dreamt of a car now wants to own one. Do I have the money ?? Never mind, the car dealers can always arrange for car loans. Repay by EMI. What if I do not have the capacity to repay. Ofcourse this friendly neighbourhood bouncer would pay me a visit and in front of my wife and children, abuse me in the filthiest of languages and for good measure even box me soundly behind the ears. Did I deserve that ?? Was I not fool enough to think that I can live my life through EMIs and credit cards?
The same people for whom this car has been magnaminously built would become destitute because of this unwholesome dream.

4. What about maintenance of the car ? No one would be naive enough to think that a car that costs 1 lakh would run for more that two to three years without serious maintenance problems. Thus the upkeep of this would reduce the take home pay of exactly those who can afford this the least.

5. Many more points, but lets forget all these and cut to the solution.

The Governement can form a committee (they would love to do that) to study the impact of these and other wannabe one lakhers on the road system.
The committee woult take twenty years (!) to find a solution by which time most of us would have died of either accidents, or pollution, or hypertension or simply of old age.

But seriously something needs to be done......... Perhaps increase the petrol price which will act as a damper on new owners (but what about the runaway inflation that would surely follow?), perhaps banish these cars to the countryside and much smaller towns, perhaps do nothing and like Nero, fiddle while Rome burns.

What's your take ??

India shining

Friends,

Is India shining ? Are we progressing on the right track ?
Is this the way of developing countries ? Will we be better off tomorrow than we are today ??

This blog is dedicated to some serious cud chewing on our dear country.

Feel free to answer these questions.

As time passes by we need to find these answers and the right solutions.

For starters, my answers :

Yes, India is indeed shining. But it is not a new phenomenon and did not happen today, or ten years back or even a hundred years back.

In fact India has been shining like a star for many thousands of years. Our culture, our history, our past and present is witness to that.

That's the reason we have been invaded by hundreds of armies, rulers, kings, empires and invaders. Everyone took back a little of India. But there was always more to spare. That's India - there is something here for every one.

Food for thought ?? Think about it ................

Note (15th Jan 2008) : Readers comments suggest that many people are not convinced that India is indeed shining. Yes, we are living in , what was till recently, a least developed country, bundled together with countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and other countries of Africa. But we have made the great leap forward. Do not expect this leap to change India into a US or a European country overnight. The transition will be slow and painful, but we will reach the top one day.

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep !!" - Robert Frost