Worry not about Obama, fix the roads

It has been more than 15 years now that Aricent has been operating out of Gurgaon. In these years, we have practically seen the place evolve from a sleepy Delhi suburban into a busy city that has become the commercial and technological hub of the country.
From the mid-90s till date, the evolution of Gurgaon has been rapid and remarkable. People have become more responsible socially than they were 15 years back and there has been a considerable improvement in the infrastructure of the city.But it is still not up to the mark.
When I had first come to Gurgaon, I had just shifted from Bangalore. While the work culture in this city was at par with that of Bangalore, the infrastructure was sadly lacking.
Even now when you step out of the swanky offices, its a whole different world out there. The potholed roads, choc-a-block traffic, poor drainage system, erratic electricity supply all cry for improvement in Gurgaon that has been tagged the Millennium City.
This, despite the fact that the cost of living in Gurgaon is much higher than in other developing cities like Bangalore and Hyderabad.
But despite these drawbacks, Gurgaon remains our prime location for work. Out of our 9,500 strong workforce worldwide, India is home to almost 7,000 employees and a large number of them are from Gurgaon.
I have often been asked about the citys future in terms of growth and development and the question has acquired special significance in the current environment which has witnessed a growing dissent in the US and European countries over outsourcing of jobs to India. However, I feel there is no reason for us to be worried as in todays world, countries are dependent on each other for their economic development. Thus, I feel as long as there is economic rationale, it will triumph over such politics.
However, a lot still needs to be done so that Gurgaon attracts more investment and business propositions. First, we need more engineering and management colleges in the city to hone skilled, young talents who will capitalise on the available opportunities.
While we have world-class buildings, when it comes to infrastructure, a major overhaul is needed.
For a start, the roads need to be repaired immediately while electricity supply needs to be improved drastically. Also the law and order situation requires to be looked into and people must become more friendly to make the city an amiable place to settle down. The administration, I feel, is a bit too slack, and they should buck up to make Gurgaon a world-class city.
Sudip Nandy is the CEO of Aricent. Presently based out of New Jersey, he has formerly lived and wroked out of Gurgaon.
As told to Divya Pathak
divya.pathak@timesgroup.com