It is difficult for anybody who has seen or used the Delhi Metro to not wonder at how uninviting its Bangalore counterpart, or sections of it which are ready, is turning out to be. Admittedly, we are talking of two cities 2,500 kilometres adrift. And obviously Namma Metro is still a work in progress.

Still, the signs are all there that something is amiss -The obscene number of pillars, and the short span between them, as compared to Delhi; the slapdash job and finishing evident in the picture below; and the archtitectural mismatch that the Metro track presents with structures all around town, should leave an aesthete wondering.

Probably the topography and soil strength is different, requiring different strokes for different folks. Maybe the design and alignment of existing roads adds to the pressure. Maybe the Metro will look different in different parts of the City. Maybe by the time of the actual run, it will look neater, better. Maybe a few decent showers will clean up the mess.

Maybe.

But looking at pictures of the Namma Metro construction over a period of time, it is difficult to not wonder if, like the much-touted Bangalore international airport which has turned out to be a steel-and-glass cowshed compared to Delhi’s or Hyderabad’s new airports.

These days it is not very surprising that anything in the United States is made somewhere else, mostly China. But, somehow, no, I didn’t expect the City of Los Angeles to have purchased its manhole covers in India.

And, besides, why would “Made in India” be thought so important that the words are every bit as prominent as the “City of LA” cast into the cover?

Turns out, manhole covers are no light matter to India. More→

Mercedes-Benz plans to make a strong supply chain for critical parts through its Indian vendors. The German automaker is in the process of increasing localisation in its cars to take on arch rival BMW. BMW has started a price war of sorts, with all its cars being cheaper than the Mercedes counterpart. The Stuttgart based company also plans to utilize its suppliers for its global orders. This would help the company to reduce dependance on one single supplier.

“We need to look for suppliers not just for us but for Mercedes factories around the world. We will need to get Indian suppliers to meet global quality and delivery schedules. The tragedy in Japan has shown the danger of relying on just one source. We need multiple suppliers, at least two or three, although having just one supplier keeps costs down. The events in Japan have also shown that just in time is good but you also need a buffer stock,” Mr. Peter Honegg, MD and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, said.

The Architecture of the Namaste Hotel builds on this ancient Indian expression. The two wings of the hotel are clasped together like hands greeting the city of Mumbai . In this way the architectural design of the hotel provides the ultimate symbol of hospitality and welcome, as seen in the as seen in the cultural context of India.  Designed by the Atkins design studio, work IS currently underway on this 300m-62 storeyed mixed use tower that will encompass a hotel, office and retail space.  More→

Segway plans to open an assembly unit in India this year. The two-wheeled self-balancing electric vehicle maker plans to setup a plant in Gurgaon. Currently being sold through its Indian partner, Bird Group, Segway has already sold 200 units since the launch of the machine in April, 2010 and expects to reach 500 units by the end of this year. The all surface vehicle sells for Rs. 4 lakhs with a top speed of 25kmph. With local assembly, the prices are set to come down as Segway will enjoy VAT exemption on the personal mobility vehicle. Segway will be available through 30 outlets by the end of 2011.

This tower has been redesigned by Norman Foster. It will be over 125 fl tall / 550m in floor height / 725m at spire height
A mixed-used development totalling 882,000 sq ft, Hyatt Park tower, in the architects’ own words:
Quote:
…centers on creating an iconic residential mixed-use building within India’s emerging new economy.

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Also known as The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the largest financially sound institution which collects taxes for 300 million people in the United States, it is also one of the most efficient operations in the entire world.   Government Revenue started out at the beginning of the 20th century at seven percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). As you can see from Chart 2, the federal share of that revenue was modest, at 2.71 percent of GDP. State revenue was a modest 0.76 percent of GDP and local revenue was 3.56 percent of GDP. But this relationship was not to last. The federal income tax was passed in 1913 and federal revenue rose rapidly in World War I, peaking at 8.4 percent of GDP in 1921 as total government revenue peaked at 14.6 percent of GDP.

For the rest of the 1920s government revenue held at about 11 to 12 percent of GDP, but tax increases at the nadir of the Great Depression increased the government take to 19.1 percent in 1933 (5.78 percent Federal, 4.19 percent State and 9.16 percent Local) and 20.3 percent in 1938 right after the 1937 recession (8.39 percent federal, 5.36 percent State and 6.56 percent Local). The trend was clear; taxing power was moving from the local level up to state governments and to the federal government. 

In World War II the government tax take rose sharply again, peaking at 30.22 percent of GDP in 1945. This revenue was split unequally between the levels of government. Federal revenue in 1945 was up to 23.84 percent of GDP, State revenue down to 3.23 percent, and local revenue down 3.15 percent.

In the post World War II era government revenue fell back initially but then began a slow increase, peaking at 33.08 percent of GDP in the recession year of 1982 and 37.35 percent of GDP in the recession year of 2001. Federal revenue has remained relatively steady, holding between 15 and 20 percent of GDP. But state and local revenue have increased substantially. State revenue broke 8 percent of GDP in the recession year of 1982 and thereafter has fluctuated between 8 and 10 percent of GDP. Local revenue broke 6 percent in 1982 and thereafter has fluctuated between 6 and 8 percent of GDP.

There is that all-too-familiar sinking feeling that accompanies hunkering down for a fourteen hour flight with a cramped seat, no personal screen and a tetchy flight attendant in complete control of your comfort. Though some flights, planes and crews, are inevitably better than others – and even two flights with the same airline can vary wildly in terms of enjoyment – there are certain airlines whose business cabins, and even economy seats, are overall nonpareil. Fly Kingfisher Airlines and you will find there is still luxury (and leg-room) to be had in today’s crowded skies. More→

Like the mighty dollar and the strong pound, the Indian rupee, too, will now have a symbol to flaunt its growing prowess in global economy.

The rupee, powered by an ever-growing Indian economy, will now sport a distinct identification symbol—an amalgamation of the Devanagri ‘Ra’ and the Roman ‘R’ without the stem. It was selected at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday.

“The symbol, designed by a postgraduate from the Indian Institute of Technology, D Udaya Kumar, was selected from among five short-listed symbols,” Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni told newspersons after the meeting. “It will give a distinctive character and identity to the currency and highlight the global face of the Indian economy,” she said.

Kumar’s entry was chosen from among over 3,000 designs competing for the currency symbol. A public competition was held last year for selecting the symbol. All the entries were evaluated by a three-member jury comprising experts from reputed art and design institutes. The jury selected five final entries and sent these to the government to take a decision.

While presenting the Budget for 2010-11, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had said: “In the ensuing year, we intend to formalise a symbol for the Indian rupee, which reflects and captures the Indian ethos and culture.

“With this, the rupee will join the select club of currencies, such as the US dollar, British pound sterling, euro and Japanese yen that have a clear distinguishing identity.”
The distinct symbol would also help in distinguishing the Indian currency from rupee or rupiah of countries like Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. “The encoding of the symbol in the Indian Standards is estimated to take about six months while it might take 18 months to two years for the international community to incorporate the new symbol,” Soni said.

The symbol will feature on computer keyboards and software so that it can be printed and displayed in electronic and print media, she said. The Nasscom will approach software development companies for incorporating the rupee symbol in their operative software as a new programme or as an update.

For incorporating the symbol in the keyboards to be manufactured in India, the Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology  will ask its members to make necessary changes in the production processes once the symbol is notified as a keyboard standard by the Bureau of Indian Standards.

More→