India faces one of the most challenging situations in the world.
It has 1.2 billion people spread over a vast country.
More than 350 million of whom will move into cities in the coming decade, which means some
500 new urban centers will need to be built from scratch.
And even though India’s sheer size means that its economy ranks third in the world
in purchasing power, overall, it’s relatively poor and underdeveloped.
It’s also young.
The average Indian is just 27 years old, compared to the average American, who’s a decade
older.
This means most of the population is about to hit their prime working years, these are
all people who need jobs to be created now.
That’s why the government is embarking on the largest infrastructure project in Indian
history: the $90 billion Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor, whose backbone will be a 920 mile
long dedicated freight corridor, basically a set of multiple rail lines that will exist
solely to move goods from the factories where they are produced to the sea and airports
where they can be exported to market.
It’s designed to cut the logistical costs of manufacturing goods to make India the cheapest
place in the world for a company to build its stuff and - in turn - triple the amount
of merchandise it exports from 2010 levels by 2017.
Japan is the major partner behind the project because the Japanese economy is based on a
technology industry that needs to build its products at the most competitive rates in
the world.
The overall effort will include a 4,000 MW power plant, and at least three brand new
seaports and six airports.
And all along the route, 24 new cities will spring up with each aiming to be superior
to any existing Indian city in terms of the quality of infrastructure, planning, management,
and services offered.
With natural resources scarce - and climate change a concern of any good urban planner
- the use of technology has been stressed to make sure this boom will be as clean and
sustainable as possible.
Roads are also a major part of the plan with thousands of miles of expressways planned
to ease congestion.
The project is a priority of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who entered office in 2014
after leading his BJP party to a dominating win in the 2014 election, giving him a mandate
to enact his vision for making India a global manufacturing superpower.
It seems the Indians are attempting to follow a similar blueprint for success the Chinese
put into action over the last 40 years.
With a population nearly as big, Indians are rightly asking, why not us?