Clogged Roads Choke Productivity And Hurt Real Estate

In their pursuit to outperform the West, Asian countries face a lot of challenges. Undoubtedly, this quest to beat the First World has been lauded worldwide. So much so that the Western world often feels threatened by their remarkable growth.

“We've (referring to the US) gone from a tremendous power that is respected all over the world to somewhat of a laughing stock. And, all of a sudden, people are talking about China and India and other places,” newly elected US President Trump had told CNN in 2007. More recently, the Republican added: “That was the beginning of China. That was the beginning of India.” However, the new US president's stance on immigration may be a cause of concern for India. In a nutshell, the world is threatened by the quality, productivity and affordability the labour forces of leading Asian economies have to offer.

So far, so good for India. However, there is a lot India can learn from its Asian neighbour to ensure it does not lose “that competitive edge” and exploits its own productivity up to the hilt.

Data digging of 2013 shows Singapore is the most productive country in Asia. In its Asian Productivity Databook 2015, brokerage company CLSE gave the nation-state the top ranking, way ahead of Hong Kong. In the list of 24 countries, India found a place at the 17th spot, below Pakistan which was ranked 16th. Countries such as Sri Lanka (9) and Bhutan (14) too are comfortably ahead of India.

“Singapore's push for automation is keeping it atop the list of Asia's most productive nations. The city is planning self-driving taxis and face-reading payment systems for rail commuters as it grapples with a rapidly aging population, falling fertility rates and a slump in economic growth,” said a Bloomberg report.

What is the lesson for India?

It may not sound plausible but everything boils down to real estate. Property in major cities becomes much more desirable when it is not hit by traffic and parking issues. Would self-driving taxis on Delhi and Mumbai roads not make our lives easy? If one had a choice, one would buy a new home in, say, Pune than in the national capital because the Maharashtra city does not face similar traffic snarls as Delhi does. Therefore, parking and traffic management are the twin issues that remain unresolved.

But, how are traffic jams and your productivity connected?

After getting stuck for hours in a road jam, with my head still dazed with the sounds of killer horns, I would not do justice to my work. I would, in all likelihood, spend a large part of the day bickering about the sorry state of affairs with the likeminded colleagues who too would be ranting about their encounters that very morning. The impact of these innocuous things, which have become an everyday affair, has a cascading effect on our overall well-being.

However, aping the Singapore model may not be on the cards for India. We have a long way to go before our roads can handle self-driving cars or systems so advanced that they can read faces and deduct payments. Achieving full output in terms of man hours is still a distant dream.