Dear Sagar

Your long post is very stimuilating indeed, thank you.

I have extended my arguments further in yet another post on my blog where I have
reflected on the lessons of the Tata Nano launch for design education in India
and I have
tracked back to your post as part of the embedded links there.

Monday, 14 January, 2008 - TATA Nano and Design Education Challenges for India
<http://www.design-for-india.blogspot.com/> I have included pictures of the NID
stall at
the Auto Expo as well as some scenario visualisations done in the recent DCC
class dealing
with mobility solutions as concepts that were explored in the class. Other
design schools
too can act on their own city and make a real difference if we work in concert
and share
methods, tools and project experiences going forward. The CEPT University in
Ahmedabad
is involved in designing and delivering the Bus Rapid Transit System for
Ahmedbad and
these can be explored for other Indian cities as well if the local
administration can be
sensitised and mobilised in some way.

James Hicks has talked about the Mono Rail in Seattle and the politics of urban
transport
and commucation in the USA. I do remember my complete distreess at the absence
of
shared public transport in Los Angles and the contrast that I experienced in New
York and
San Francisco. Similarly each India city could look for their own design
solutions and build
these without worrying much about what Delhi can or would do and here there is a
role for
the design community as well as the design schools to play if we are to
influence change
in our country like the Curitiba example that I had talked about and shown
pictures and
links in my post dated Friday, 11 January, 2008 - TATA Nano and the Indian
Cities in the
Creative Age.

I am glad that this debate is happening here and that the design community is
speaking
out and I am sure they will be heard. But we do need to take this to the next
level of action
and partnership with local government and industry is the way forward from here.

With warm regards

M P Ranjan
from my office at NID
14 January 2008 at 6.55 pm IST

--------------------------------------------------------------

Prof M P Ranjan
Faculty of Design
Head, Centre for Bamboo Initiatives at NID (CFBI-NID)
Chairman, GeoVisualisation Task Group (DST, Govt. of India) (2006-2008)
National Institute of Design
Paldi
Ahmedabad 380 007 India

Tel: (off) 91 79 26623692 ext 1090
Tel: (res) 91 79 26610054
Fax: 91 79 26605242

email: ranjanmp@...
web site: http://homepage.mac.com/ranjanmp
web domain: http://www.ranjanmp.in
blog: <http://www.design-for-india.blogspot.com>
education blog: <http://www.design-concepts-and-concerns.blogspot.com>
education blog: http://www.visible-information-india.blogspot.com

---------------------------------------------------------------
--- In designindia@..., "Sagarmoy Paul" <sagarmoypaul@...> wrote:
>
> Very long mail. This time from marketing and macroeconomic point of view.
> Please bear with me.
>
> Nano Phenomenon
>
> With Nano Mr. Tata will have the beginner's luck and will also receive
> the beginner's flak. Bajaj, who is going to get hit hardest, has
> unveiled their version with lukewarm response. It does not take too
> much to imagine Maruti, – who has enjoyed monopoly in the economy
> model will fight back sooner than later. They enjoy better customer
> satisfaction than Tatas do. Chances are Hyundai will not be the
> sitting idle either. That makes it quite a crowd by now.
>
> It is difficult to imagine how Tatas will earn any profit after the
> dealer's & distributor's commission is paid. Their game plan may be to
> achieve 'economies of scale' through volume, as they know that demand
> will outstrip supply. Nano is the biggest and will be the most
> successful branding exercise in recent times for the group to gain the
> 'affinity quotient' without spending any money on it. In one
> masterstroke of business he has been able to garner moral high ground
> by the buying people sickened by the government's inefficiency.
>
> Mr. Tata has almost become champion of socialism overnight in a
> country easily taken in by personality cult! From the head honcho of
> the respected Tata empire, who basically saw a big opportunity in a
> segment to deliver a sure-shot winner in a price sensitive market.
> Nano is just another product in the Tata portfolio for the lower end.
> For the higher end of the market, he is comfortably poised to own and
> offer Jaguar very soon. So let's not get fooled by this neo-liberator
> of the masses image. He bought Corus, together with Singapore Airlines
> he has pitched for airport modernization. He had the technology,
> infrastructure, money and reputation to offer a similar public
> transport solution which could have really become a progressive step
> for the country. But Ratan is no JRD, – he took the trader's approach
> of daily sale and number of units sold. Road space scarcity,
> pedestrian safety, fuel bill – these are none of his business.
>
> •••
>
> A lot of families will definitely be very happy for being able to
> fulfil their dream of owning a car. And why not? The sight of 'whole
> family of five on a scooter' will not disappear in Indian roads
> though, – while some of them will be able to move up the social value
> chain others will quickly replace them. The motorcycle crowd may
> continue to drive their bikes with much machismo. Chances are it is
> the big city dwellers who will buy this car (as 2nd/3rd car) more than
> the rural folks as a utility vehicle, because road space/parking
> scarcity is more acute in big cities. On the other hand, the
> aspiration seekers may decide to give thumbs down to Nano as its
> identity has been interlinked with price. It will also gain the tag
> of a poor man's vehicle.
>
> On the positive side, Nano has a stunning design, promises to be
> fuel-efficient and has environmental compliance. Its designers have
> managed to give that alluring product appeal which shows cheap price
> does not have to be cheap looking. As a designer I am proud of what
> the designers/engineers have achieved. But design is hardly ever
> detached from larger social reality. Nano and its competitors are the
> new mechanical rodents that will eat away our successes in other
> sectors.
>
> The demand for fuel will surge to unmanageable proportions. We will
> have to earn more foreign exchange through export to foot the
> increasing oil bill. The export market is already hit, ironically
> stung by the increasing value of the Rupee! The impending American
> economic recession (our largest trade partner) will see less demand
> for our products and export is going to be hit the hardest. There will
> also be less FDI available. So we will have less foreign currency
> earning and more spending. If the deficit gets bigger we will have no
> option but to borrow money from financial institutions so that Nanos
> can ply.
>
> Nano is a gift of free economy ushered in 1991. My gut feel is (hope I
> am proven wrong), it is also the beginning of the end of that
> liberalization dream in the auto sector as the govt. will have no
> option but to impose controls on private fuel consumption. There could
> even be fuel rationing. Which will translate into having a car but
> remaining immobile. If the price is increased beyond the affordability
> of the masses, the rich will continue to drive their SUVs. The point
> will be lost.
>
> This fear is not exaggerated. Public memory is too short. In mid
> eighties India was hard hit by dissolve of India's big ally and market
> – Soviet Union. It was soon followed by the gulf war when the largest
> civil evacuation programme (of stranded NRIs of gulf) took place. It
> completely drained our forex reserve. We reached such a state that we
> had to pawn the country's gold reserve (remember?) as there was no
> foreign currency left to run the country for more than seven days. Mr.
> Narasimha Rao didn't have any choice but to approach the World Bank
> through his finance minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. It agreed to bail
> India out with a condition - market liberalization. Thus, contrary to
> popular belief, liberalization didn't come to India through 'design'
> but by 'default'. And now we are coming a full circle, ironically with
> Dr. Singh in the driver's seat.
>
> This time around, if the fuel demand causes a similar scenario, we
> have no golden egg in our closet. Therefore, the Nano phenomenon has
> the potential of boomeranging a jumbo problem for the country. Even
> though at present our foreign currency reserve is quite healthy, let
> us not forget the lessons of 1989. The car may be called Nano, but the
> larger picture is quite bleak.
>
> Regards
>
> Sagarmoy Paul
> NID-PEP-GD-1981-87
> THOUGHTSCAPE
> New Delhi
>