To Protect What?

A 1.5km stretch between Andheri and the Western Express Highway in Mumbai guzzles fuel worth Rs 33 lakh a day because of severe traffic jams. If the energy expended in this stop-and-go city driving were converted into electricity to charge the electrical engine of say, a Honda Hybrid (that claims to have a 47 per cent efficiency), we would save approximately 28,200lt of petrol (or Rs 15 lakh) a day, in that stretch alone.

But the government's anticipatory protectionism attitude slaps a 104 per cent tax on the import of completely built unit (CBU) cars making them inaccessible to the average person. This is done in hopes of enticing car manufacturers to set up plants in the country, hence bringing in the technology. Others are of the view that the anticipation really is that local players will develop their own technology and then should be provided an uncompetitive market.Until now, lobbying by small fries such as electric car company Reva sought no response. With the rising oil prices, in a country that uses as much as 315 crore litres of petrol a year, and pressure from heavyweights waiting to tap into the Indian market along with bodies such as Department of Heavy Industries one finally sees the government "responding positively". How soon action is taken is yet to be seen.

The Delhi government, of course, says that they wait to be apporoached by alternate vehicle manufacturers to spur adoption of such technologies. Maybe years spent debate could've been saved if Reva had invited Mrs.Dixit as chief guest earlier.

The world’s latest boogeyman

Food. Famines and dwindling staple food reserves have set prices soaring. Socially responsible companies are working along with governments to increase agricultural output. For example:

Monsanto is busy leveraging this situation to convince governments to adopt their once banned genetically modified food seeds. They don’t even have to attach a new-and-improved tag for the governments to lap up their offering now.

Mars, the good old candy-maker, is pumping money into the study of the cocoa genome. This, of course, is as justified as any research in staples since 70 per cent of Africa is employed in cocoa production. That is the cause Howard-Yana Shapiro, global director of plant science at Mars, champions at the United Nations.

iPhone - the second wave

Apple slashed iPhone's prices, works out to about ten grand now. Will this help it penetrate the Indian market ?
The government is looking at beating itself and leapfrogging 3G.
Smart alecs have been sourcing 'non-China' versions for five grand.
And no one has the patience to wait for India to feature on Jobs' list of 70 countries.
Sure, we will now find many more flashing their iPhones. How much this adds to Apple's reserves - already dependent on volume sales with it's subsidised pricing - is questionable.

The iPhone, unlike the Mac, helps Apple target beyond the gadget freak. It casts a wider net, to fish out those who do not understand technology and can't comprehend it's utility, but clearly want to appear as knowing both.

For Apple's latest power-point-presenting phone, competition from RiM's blackberry is non-existent. It does not plan to sell to old fogs in grey suits. It will, going by history, convert them. Samsung's i900 Omnia (to be launched in July) may lose to the iPhone only because it lacks the cult following. The rest can watch, wait and feast on the spoils.