I have been reading the "World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman for the last couple of weeks. It is really insightful & I would go so far as to say "a must read". In the book Tom explains the affects of globalization & how the IT boom has flattened the whole world. He speaks in great length about India & how the youth in India are contributing towards the global technology growth. Infact, last night I watched a Discovery channel documentary on the same subject. In this he concentrated more on the call center culture in India & how it has liberated the youth. This really got me thinking. I agree that the younger generation in India really have a lot more opportunities than in our times(damn I already sound old). By this, I mean that you don't necessarily have to be a Doctor or an Engineer to earn a living. On the one hand this is really good but on the same token a majority of these youngsters are gravitating towards call centers for work. The whole call center culture is very appealing to them & the money is not bad at all. One of the girls in the documentary when asked about what India has in store for the future said that "we will rock the world"! Will we really rock the world by having more & more call centers in India.
These call centers while providing a means of employement are also making these youngsters get out of school without any formal education. This is just making our educated class shallower. The only advantage India has is that our medium of education is English but once other countries like China & the Eastern European countries get proficient in English then these same call centers might go to the cheapest bidder. What if India loses out..we will be stuck with a large majority of youngsters with not enough education & now without call centers to employ them. I know I am exaggerating these things, but I have been known to do that :)
One more ill affect of this easy money is that the younger generation has gotten used to spending more than they earn. Now a days everybody wants to go to the fancy restaurants/pubs, wear branded clothes & have the coolest cell phones(with the most annoying ring tones). This has fueled the whole credit card culture. I have friends in India ho earn 20K a month & already have credit card debts running in the 100Ks. This is definetly not what we want.
When I compare India with China, I kinda like where China is going. Almost all the MNCs want to "offshore" their product manufacturing to China. This is helping the working class to play a more active role in their developement. Although I am not sure how much of the monetary benefits really perculates down to the normal working class :( But, once China starts eating into the "out sourcing" pie, they will really explode on to this global market. I was talking to a friend of mine who has his own furniture manufacturing unit in Mysore & he told me that to compete with other vendors in India they are being forced to import furniture from China. Can you believe that, India is importing traditional Indian furniture from China. Their labor is so cheap that nobody can compete with them right now. What I am getting at is that in China the "boom" is touching people of different stratas in the society, so the poor also get a small piece of the pie. Bit in India, the "boom" is still limited to the software industry & the infrastructure surrounding it. This is broadening the gap between the disadvantaged & techies which leaves them feeling disconnected from all the hype which is happening in their country. Thomas Friedman in his documentary touches upon the fact that this tech boom is idealizing the "techy lifestyle" thereby attracting more & more youngsters to be a part of it. While this is definetly a good thing as technology plays such an important role in our lives this may also undermine our advancements in other areas.
I know I sound really pessimistic. But c'mon atleast some of it is true. But, there is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel. The Discovery documentary showed a school in the outskirts of Bangalore which was started by an expat who made it big in the US. This provides education to the disadvantaged children who are a vast majority. This is really commendable & I am sure there are a lot more people who want to do their bit to give back to the community. The future might not be as bleak as I make it out to be..we'll just have to wait & watch.
-Ranjeet
These call centers while providing a means of employement are also making these youngsters get out of school without any formal education. This is just making our educated class shallower. The only advantage India has is that our medium of education is English but once other countries like China & the Eastern European countries get proficient in English then these same call centers might go to the cheapest bidder. What if India loses out..we will be stuck with a large majority of youngsters with not enough education & now without call centers to employ them. I know I am exaggerating these things, but I have been known to do that :)
One more ill affect of this easy money is that the younger generation has gotten used to spending more than they earn. Now a days everybody wants to go to the fancy restaurants/pubs, wear branded clothes & have the coolest cell phones(with the most annoying ring tones). This has fueled the whole credit card culture. I have friends in India ho earn 20K a month & already have credit card debts running in the 100Ks. This is definetly not what we want.
When I compare India with China, I kinda like where China is going. Almost all the MNCs want to "offshore" their product manufacturing to China. This is helping the working class to play a more active role in their developement. Although I am not sure how much of the monetary benefits really perculates down to the normal working class :( But, once China starts eating into the "out sourcing" pie, they will really explode on to this global market. I was talking to a friend of mine who has his own furniture manufacturing unit in Mysore & he told me that to compete with other vendors in India they are being forced to import furniture from China. Can you believe that, India is importing traditional Indian furniture from China. Their labor is so cheap that nobody can compete with them right now. What I am getting at is that in China the "boom" is touching people of different stratas in the society, so the poor also get a small piece of the pie. Bit in India, the "boom" is still limited to the software industry & the infrastructure surrounding it. This is broadening the gap between the disadvantaged & techies which leaves them feeling disconnected from all the hype which is happening in their country. Thomas Friedman in his documentary touches upon the fact that this tech boom is idealizing the "techy lifestyle" thereby attracting more & more youngsters to be a part of it. While this is definetly a good thing as technology plays such an important role in our lives this may also undermine our advancements in other areas.
I know I sound really pessimistic. But c'mon atleast some of it is true. But, there is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel. The Discovery documentary showed a school in the outskirts of Bangalore which was started by an expat who made it big in the US. This provides education to the disadvantaged children who are a vast majority. This is really commendable & I am sure there are a lot more people who want to do their bit to give back to the community. The future might not be as bleak as I make it out to be..we'll just have to wait & watch.
-Ranjeet
