INFRASTRUCTURE BOTTLENECKS

    I always wonder .. what can be the possible reasons for relating infrastructure development with a growing economy or how a good public infrastructure helps to sustain an economic growth of order of 8-9 percent or even higher. Open any daily newspaper and u will surely find an article on infrastructure development and its importance for economic growth. Everyday some or other mandarin in New Delhi comments on future policies for developing infrastructure followed by some cerebral comments from the graying economists of our country in leading dailies. I was very confused until I realized this profound relationship accidently…. How???
Ok.. let me explain by drawing analogy between English language and infrastructure of a country. As a CAT aspirant I was suggested to improve English language as it is the deciding factor for selection into the elite IIMs. Reading comprehension is a very important part of testing your language skill in CAT and as it always carries a weightage of almost 50% in English section so it can’t be overlooked . We are always asked to read passages as fast as u can and with a reasonable accuracy. I was asked to completely read passage and answer question within 8 min( for each passage irrespective of its length and difficulty level) . As any other “obedient” student I paid heed to my sir’s advice and started reading objectively to acheive that in a quantum of 8-9 minutes…….. but ….failed so here comes the first obstacle. Forget about 8 min I was not even able to read passage in 15 min leave questions to be attempted. So what can be my problem????
Every language has a particular style and to be able to read passages in less than 8 min u need to have a very strong feeling of the language just like most of us have in HINDI. Language can be understood easily when u have a good grasp on the words used ,their framing in the sentence and its grammer. In other words firstly u should have a good command over its vocabulary.
Vocabulary in English is like basic road and rail networks of a country. Along with grammer ,vocabulary are the building blocks of language. So as I am a “obedient” student I started mugging up words from BARRON ( undisputed bible of vocabulary). This focussed attention to vocab (roads and rails) definitely helped to build my basic knowledge” infrastructure” in the country of “English”. After cramming some words I was fully contended that now 8 min task is acheivable.. but……………….even though How hard may I try 8 min target ( just like 8-9% of GDP growth rate) is simply distant from me…… the reason??? What I found on deeper analysis is that my reading speed has become constant and remained at around 9-10 min. Although I managed to reduce time from initial 12-13 min to 9-10 min but that was again of no use. This is precisely the case with INDIA . With current state of public infrastructure a growth rate of 7-8 % GDP is acheivable but it can’t be sustained in a long run.
Vocab alone in country of English….. won’t help any way .This situation can be compared with dismal state of public infrastructure in BHARAT (rural india) as well as in INDIA also (urban india) .Roads are there everywhere in our country but they are as good as absent. Relatively good infrastructure in cities made them centres of economic activities thereby putting enormous pressure on available resources and city infrastructure leading to a variety of problems. A good example is our financial capital Mumbai coping with a population of nearly 1 crore and 75 lakhs. Now juxtapose this problem of economy with passage reading and u will find a parallel . If u have a good vocab (or a reasonable state of roads and rail connectivity) you can expect to reach close to 9-10 min target but still not 7-8 trajectory.. Now if u wish for a higher growth trajectory of Economy ( or reading and answering passages in less than 8min say 6min ) u need to have strategic reforms within ur country ( or approach to read passages which means instead of reading the whole passage just glance through it to grasp its meaning in totality and feel author’s thinking).
Phrasel verbs have a great significance in English . phrasel verbs are like inter-state highways. Interstate highways serves country by connecting ports ,metros ,other economically strong regions with the undeveloped regions thus providing better job oppurtunities to people of undeveloped regions, giving health security , education, investments and new business creations which means to tap the yet untapped potential. The same way goes in English by phrasel verbs and vocab combination. Vocab (basic connectivity services in a country) and phrasel verbs (special pathways of country) helps u to learn and comprehend more polished form of English. They helps u to cruise through passage and achieve 8 min . but what if a more refined passage comes in exam……. A refined English employs good words , uses phrasel verbs and idioms so as to make it pithy without compromising with feelings of author/writer. So idioms are like big “freeways” ( freeways are most popular in USA and is now implemented in INDIA also) reducing time to reach from one place to another thereby allowing more output in less time.The same is the case with an economy. Good connectivity in between various parts of a country ,be it rural or urban have a profound impact on economic growth. Freeways (idioms ), interstate highways (phrasel verbs) and vocab (basic rail and road connectivity) helps in doing business easy and comfortable and less tiresome, encourages investment in niche areas as well as in established domain, taps the untapped potential Brings technology, lowers down the “Energy Intensity Ratio” of a country ( for India it is nearly 3 which means to generate one unit of GDP India needs 3 units of energy. For developing countries like USA or Canada this ratio is nearly 1), generates employment, boosts production, increases consumer base, leads to prosperity of untapped areas and also reducing pressure of the developed areas. Today India managed to grow at 7-8% but with good infrastructure more and more areas will be accessible for doing business, investments, developing man power, but to sustain it our govt should focus on higher infrastructure developments. For ex: despite so much power shortages in our country govt has not tried to fully tap the hydroelectric power production in north-eastern states which has an estimated capacity of around 10,000MW . China has been doing this for the last three decades and the result is gleaming Shanghai and recently opened world’s largest International airport in Beijing. Had INDIA developed a good public infrastructure 10-12 percent economy growth rate would not be invincible .
So….. what’s the moral of story ………..a good infrastructure in English would need construction of vocabulary base, phrasel verbs and using idioms to glance (and not read) the whole passage within 8 or 7 min along with answers.
( ALL FACTS ARE ACCURATE)