16 Comments [...]

However I am not sure whether Kerala is really a role model and an example for the RISC model. There have been enough studies and debates in what is known as the Kerala Model (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerala_model)and the anomaly of high social development despite economic backwardness. The fact is that Kerala economy is driven by NRI remittances, and because money is available, a service economy is evolved around this. Initially it was from West Asia and now the US contribution is also high. And I don’t know such an economy can be a role model. In the last decade or so, it is true that tourism is also a major driver.

Neverthless, RISC perhaps is the right model for India.

You will definitely seem to be stuck unless you move beyond the argument that village-centric development is a waste of money. Given your academic background I expect you to have studied the growth of emerging towns in India and find a pattern among them that yields pointers to RISC.

Infrastructure would seem to be a definite enabler (if not the only one). In the past railway stations (particularly junctions) had the potential for growth. Can we find some new towns that owe their growth to recent improvement in the road connectivity?

Business hub is another possible enabler. We often see business units tend to club themselves to a location. This is more prevalent in cities but could possibly apply to hinterland too.

Do you think RISC needs government funding? if not, then don’t discuss the politician and RISC in same breath.

Does RISC have a economic merit of its own so that private parties could also get in once there is a model and a champion for this trend (at sub-SEZ level)?

Sharad

I enjoyed this post and specially these lines,” Second, it may be that using the excuse of funding village development, people up and down the administrative and political chain enjoy the perks of handling lots of money with very sticky fingers.” I like the analogy of sticky fingers to corruption.Very acutely true

Jyoti