TODAY -
Revisiting CM�s New York Darshan
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By: Various Contributors * |
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Rise up�for you the flag is flung�for you the bugle trills; - Walt Whitman We have heard and read about Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi�s New York and Bangkok trips. Prominent English and vernacular newspapers in Imphal too had covered the Chief Minister�s business sojourn in their best possible way. Despite the information that has trickled down, we found something amiss in all the �talks� about Mr. Okram�s visits. We request all to revisit the event by reading the texts of speeches delivered by our own Chief Minister and the Chief Ministers of Sikkim, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in addition to the video clippings of the Chief Ministers. The deep concern we have as citizens of the state has prompted us to place the following for a meaningful and fruitful public dialogue.
Wearing the inside out -
1. Chief Minister, Government of Manipur Things that we have seen, read and heard above are not the only reactions to Mr. Okram Ibobi�s. Read the following editorials published in two major English newspapers in the state. HARDSELLING MANIPUR Editorial - The Sangai Express, 27th September, 2007
BIG APPLE BIG LAUGH Editorial - The Imphal Free Press, 18th October 2007
Here are some important points we would like to add and share: On US Venture Capitalists (VC) and Angels In the Current state of business affairs, investments by Venture Capitalist in the US or prominent Western Countries are based on the following: 1. Either we have a running business that is making some profit and have some market share, or we are looking for more investment to expand it further. We need a solid long-short term business plan and most of the time we can negotiate to maximum- 30% VC equity in our business. 2. Or we have a fantastic business plan and a prototype product that is ready to hit the market. This is our worst case scenario because Venture Capitalist will want 60% - 70% equity in our business. The above scenarios are true for Angels too except that Angels are not as profit oriented or as greedy as the VCs. The times have gone when VC fund poured in for brilliant ideas or by simply stating that there are lots of potentials for such and such projects. What the Business is all about? Business is all about Returns on Investments (ROI). Manipur has been living on charities (Central Govt. and NGOs) and loans that may never be paid back. The stark reality is that whatever we have done with the above two sources will not work when it comes to private investments. We always have to remember that for Investors, it is money making money theory, therefore their investments has to make sense and must fetch certain amount of returns going forward. Frankly, it is frustrating to hear/read our Chief Ministers short speech. We hoped that the Honourable CM would be talking about valid plans even if he had nothing solid to offer at the current scenario, possibly to envisage interest and his talks about �potentials� made one feel that he has not even scratched the surface on the plans. Now let�s look at some of the industries he mentioned. Tourism - What are some of the important aspects of tourism in the state? Better connectivity (via Air, road etc.,) livable law & order situation, better facilities regarding accommodations, hotels, places to eat etc. If you name 10, 9 of them will not be fulfilled in Manipur. Revenue generation of tourism depends much on the spending and purchasing power of the tourists. And also Manipur Tourism�s selling power. For this Manipur has to be free and safe and have all the standard facilities available at most tourist spots around the world. Else, the state will only attract few people with interest in research in flora and fauna and geo-political conflict resolution without bringing much to the table to fill up to up a wider revenue generation in the nascent stage. We, however don�t deny the importance of the rich flora and fauna of the state, which can help the state fetch their share with the advent of eco and adventure tourism later. Another area is the IT industry. It is an industry which can have a good future given the geo-politcal location of Manipur. Modern IT industry businesses are conducted easing the obstacles of surface transport/communication industries without underestimating their values. But where are the infrastructure and manpower? Do we have any short term - long term concrete plans to develop it? We were informed that our neighbouring state Assam has cable internet access upto to 5Mbps burst speed. We want our Chief Minister to beat that at least. Assam office of CII is arranging a NRI summit in December in Guwahati to attract NRI, VCs and Angels. http://www.guwahati.com/images/nri-convention.pdf Roads, railways and airfields are of vital importance for a modern society. The value of this infrastructure is tremendous and careful management and maintenance is essential to maintain and develop business. The national highway no. 53 is just 220 Km long, a distance far smaller than the distance most people in develop nation would drive to go to the beaches for leisurely activities on weekends. If our leaders had the will, a brand new expressway that stretches such short distance should be no more than a year's work. Manipur is not land lock state. We lock ourselves in. No modern society can exist without access to cheap and reliable energy. Energy consumption is by far one of the most accurate measures of quality of life. Let�s look at the per capita energy consumption of the G8 countries, which represents about 65% of the world economy. According to International Energy Agency publication, Key word Energy Statistics, 2007 below:
Compare these with the per capita consumption of Manipur listed below:
Source: Indian Real Estate & Property News From the data presented above, it is fairly evident that we have to do something to increase our energy consumption to better our lives. We definitely need to do something to feed our energy needs. A look at the power requirements of Manipur reveals a shocking reality. The NIC website lists the current electricity requirements of Manipur at only 120MW during peak hours. This is too meager and inadequate considering a population of 2 millions. However considering our experts have done their homework and the assessment is accurate lets look as other alternate energy sources. These days a single wind turbine can generate 5MW1 under ideal conditions. These means 24 wind turbines (at least theoretically) is all that we need to create clean renewable energy that can light up the whole of Manipur. Solar Energy is fast catching up too. These days develop worlds are looking towards clean and renewable energy with Europe at the forefront, however Manipur seems hell bent on destroying its environments with mindless half built dams all over the place. In short, if the CM is / was looking forward to attract investors, be it from individuals, NRI, VCs, or Angels, he needs to do his homework and be aware that he is not only competing with his counterparts in the North East but also with the rest of the world. Please, remember this is the age of globalization and to succeed in this venture certain analysis regarding the problem and possible solutions must be presented. It is not enough to just understand a problem but it is equally important to understand the problems, and the solution can only be achieved by de-structuring the problems. Learning from the lapses and loopholes of the past, we believe and hope that our government will perform better in future. We believe our State Government will also seek for better suggestions and inputs from different sources to help them do better in the affair of the state in the future. Reference: * Duran Thiyam , Rajesh Khumanthem , Ringo Pebam , Sam Khumanthem , Vimol Khetrimayum , contributes for this article to e-pao.net . This article was webcasted on October 24th 2007. Read related story on CM's visit to NYC: |
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