r2i forum

A lot of readers on this forum dream of returning to india. I do too...when we go on the short sweet vacations to India. I enjoy my trips, but I am getting increasingly frustrated to get anything done there. And by that I mean getting real work done - in the US, if i have to buy a property or get a drivers license I just follow the procedure myself and get it done..., no surprises really. But in India (in a city like bangalore), buying a property (land) makes me rely on so many different people -- the connections matter a lot, and needs a lot of insider knowledge, in terms of validity of the title/registration, getting loan approved, verifying property history, getting the actual transaction done. I honestly felt I couldn't have done this by myself (unlike in the US of A). Felt very dependent.

Another project was to get wifi dongle for my laptop from Airtel.
- i called around stores on a sunday and visited a few stores (my mistake), no one answered...all stores close on sunday.
- went to one airtel store on monday, he said airtel doesn't sell prepaid wifi dongle anymore. get monthly one, he was confident. i didn't believe him. went to another bigger store.
- i am told i can get prepaid wifi dongle, this is the application etc. get it all filled with supporting docs -> i did get frustrated that i just can't get this done quickly...so much procedure (alright, security issues...). OK done.
- take the docs and app to them on tuesday: 1st problem: signature on the app should be half on the app and other half on the photograph. it has to be exactly half-half. this is critical she tells me.
- Need to redo the app. don't have an extra photo, so i get a passport size photo, redid the app and came at lunch time. But the ma'm handling this issue is on lunch break. Only she will handle my case...the other guy sitting idle on the next chair doesn't handle prepaid wifi applications (he is post paid guy), so i wait for 45 mins.
- the agent comes and verifies the app and says the signature is not exactly half-half, so there is a risk that it can get rejected. also it will take 24 hours to approve. what?! you didn't tell me that before. i need the internet as i need to get on vpn. she says, go to head quarters and see if they can do it quickly.
- i go to head quarters. my mistake was i didn't call before hand. At head quarters I am told they don't sell prepaid wifi dongle at all. Only the auxilliary stores do that. So I go back to the other store, but ma'm has left for the day.
- I come back on wednesday and submit the app, and my account is activated on thursday afternoon. I finally get vpn access on thursday night. A saga that started on sunday.

It took me 4-5 days to get internet, though i may not have complained about these things if I never lived in the USA. btw, the internet speed sucked big time. They throttle like crazy - all this drama for nothing i felt. i emailed my team saying i can't work with these speeds and just took time off.

tahoelocal;625541I finally get vpn access on thursday night. A saga that started on sunday.

There is a method to the madness. If you don't know the method, its just madness.

If you had a whatsapp group of a hundred friends and cousins, someone would have known the exact speed achievable, correct shop and the right ma'm to go talk to. In that case it would be a one day job. Actual quote from a close friend "You people from the US think you can go anywhere, anytime, and get anything done from anyone" :) This was when I was trying to get my drivers license renewed on a Monday morning 10.00am. The real helpdesk guy had outsourced it to a some dude who knew nothing - Bangalore/Jayanagar RTO.

I reverted to my friends/relatives for actual Jayanagar RTO procedure. Once I had the right info (not the form found online, but the kannada version handed out at the RTO), info about the right person (real help desk guy - dude at the xerox/copy shop) and right time (Monday 12.00pm when the good RTO inspector is available), I got my license renewed with Rs 0.0 extra, delivered to my doorstep exactly on time. I was also advised to take my mother with me, and not wear NRI dress (shorts). My mother to read Kannada forms. I kid you not, the entire medical clearance form with all the diseases are in Kannada, I had to dig deep into my skill box to be able to read it all and fill it all. Life can be made easy, but it needs some preparation, close circle of advisors and an open mind.

I agree with GG. Kannada + Grey hair traditional lady combination works very well at Jayanagar RTO.

GutsyGibbon;625544There is a method to the madness. If you don't know the method, its just madness.

If you had a whatsapp group of a hundred friends and cousins, someone would have known the exact speed achievable, correct shop and the right ma'm to go talk to. In that case it would be a one day job. Actual quote from a close friend "You people from the US think you can go anywhere, anytime, and get anything done from anyone" :)

Beautifully said GutsyGibbon. I guess my meta-point was that I am so used to the independence in US and getting things done quickly and efficiently, and when I go to India, I have to rely on so many people and connections to get things done. Ack on the DL experience. When I needed international drivers license from the jayanagar RTO long time back, i got help from the right uncle/relative to get it done quickly (literally last minute thing before i left for the US).

but..i..dont..want..to..ask..people..for..help..all..the..time.

P.S - come to think of it: my circle of friends and cousins in bangalore have dwindled over the years - come to think of it - most of my my contemporary cousins are in US now.

tahoelocal;625541A lot of readers on this forum dream of returning to india. I do too...when we go on the short sweet vacations to India. I enjoy my trips, but I am getting increasingly frustrated to get anything done there. And by that I mean getting real work done - in the US, if i have to buy a property or get a drivers license I just follow the procedure myself and get it done..., no surprises really. But in India (in a city like bangalore), buying a property (land) makes me rely on so many different people -- the connections matter a lot, and needs a lot of insider knowledge, in terms of validity of the title/registration, getting loan approved, verifying property history, getting the actual transaction done. I honestly felt I couldn't have done this by myself (unlike in the US of A). Felt very dependent.

Another project was to get wifi dongle for my laptop from Airtel.
- i called around stores on a sunday and visited a few stores (my mistake), no one answered...all stores close on sunday.
- went to one airtel store on monday, he said airtel doesn't sell prepaid wifi dongle anymore. get monthly one, he was confident. i didn't believe him. went to another bigger store.
- i am told i can get prepaid wifi dongle, this is the application etc. get it all filled with supporting docs -> i did get frustrated that i just can't get this done quickly...so much procedure (alright, security issues...). OK done.
- take the docs and app to them on tuesday: 1st problem: signature on the app should be half on the app and other half on the photograph. it has to be exactly half-half. this is critical she tells me.
- Need to redo the app. don't have an extra photo, so i get a passport size photo, redid the app and came at lunch time. But the ma'm handling this issue is on lunch break. Only she will handle my case...the other guy sitting idle on the next chair doesn't handle prepaid wifi applications (he is post paid guy), so i wait for 45 mins.
- the agent comes and verifies the app and says the signature is not exactly half-half, so there is a risk that it can get rejected. also it will take 24 hours to approve. what?! you didn't tell me that before. i need the internet as i need to get on vpn. she says, go to head quarters and see if they can do it quickly.
- i go to head quarters. my mistake was i didn't call before hand. At head quarters I am told they don't sell prepaid wifi dongle at all. Only the auxilliary stores do that. So I go back to the other store, but ma'm has left for the day.
- I come back on wednesday and submit the app, and my account is activated on thursday afternoon. I finally get vpn access on thursday night. A saga that started on sunday.

It took me 4-5 days to get internet, though i may not have complained about these things if I never lived in the USA. btw, the internet speed sucked big time. They throttle like crazy - all this drama for nothing i felt. i emailed my team saying i can't work with these speeds and just took time off.

I agree it's painful to get things done in India compared to here in the U.S.
However with modernization, things have improved a lot in India. I still remember
we had to stand in the line for several hours just to make a train reservation.
Now, this can be done online almost instantly.

Purchasing real estate is much easier and safer now than several years ago. Most of the
transactions are computerized leading to less chances of fraud. For registration it's always required to go through brokers.
Yes, getting a SIM card is such a pain. I guess after the terror attach in Mumbai in 2011, they have tightened the process further.

tahoelocal;625548P.S - come to think of it: my circle of friends and cousins in bangalore have dwindled over the years - come to think of it - most of my my contemporary cousins are in US now.

Thanks to Whatsapp, I have connected with a whole bunch people who have R2I'ed. That way they know the plight of NRI, and also ground realities. The universal language of friendship is Single malt whisky, it brings all sorts of people together. :)

gopinathpc;625550Yes, getting a SIM card is such a pain. I guess after the terror attach in Mumbai in 2011, they have tightened the process further.

You have put in so much effort to get that Sim card, keep it active. Have your parents keep this Sim card active in those dual Sim card phones. Take it from them the day you land, and use it. If you or your siblings are going to do a India trip every year, it can be used by them as well.

There is a method to the madness. If you don't know the method, its just madness.

Well said @GG.. We always help out our close US friends with SIM cards. Dongle MTS and photon has good speeds. My hubby uses this when we go for within India trips and has to connect to office VPN. No issues. The company person came to our place with all documents and all signatures checked and we got it by courier within a day.

But yes a good circle helps to make life easier.

Note that Airtel now has unlimited validity plans. So if you just want to use regular emails, WhatsApp , FB etc this is a good option.



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Overall Privatization has really helped Indian consumer, brought the costs down and improved the customer service for people. This is slowly challenging the public sector as well where they have to face private competition E.g. BSNL. Again Air India is long overdue for a big overhaul. But don't expect wonders and improvements where we have monopoly as there's no incentive for them to improve E.g. Railways.
Some examples I personally experienced:
[LIST=1]

Personal banking is much better. Online facilities, ATM, personal banker for high profile/net worth accounts. They deliver cash, come and collect checks from home etc. India's NEFT is a great facility, nothing comparable in US.

Online complaints work better. They directly go to a higher official usually an IAS officer and they get looked at. It doesn't take much time, so use that facility. Also leave any positive feedback as well.

Airtel, Cable etc., they come to our place. Usually we don't need to go to office, I think getting SIM card is little different may be after Mumbai attacks.

Revenue department and land registration is still bad, they have made things online long back but no improvement since then. They got to stop double registrations, very easy for them to do but they won't comply.

Police and courts still suck, more now than before.

Medicine and hospitals are a mixed back. The range is very good doctors, some of the best in the world to oxygen wasting morons. Be careful and if not sure have to take multiple opinions. Still lot of good doctors in India, some of them still do good public service.

Street food, take out, small to medium restaurants - Be very careful, the standards are deteriorating very fast here. You need to look for reputed ones or personal recommendations from closed ones.

Roads and Transport (RTA) departments are better but still need to improve.
[/LIST]

ILuvHyd;625608Overall Privatization has really helped Indian consumer, brought the costs down and improved the customer service for people. This is slowly challenging the public sector as well where they have to face private competition E.g. BSNL. Again Air India is long overdue for a big overhaul. But don't expect wonders and improvements where we have monopoly as there's no incentive for them to improve E.g. Railways.
Some examples I personally experienced:
[LIST=1]

Personal banking is much better. Online facilities, ATM, personal banker for high profile/net worth accounts. They deliver cash, come and collect checks from home etc. India's NEFT is a great facility, nothing comparable in US.

Online complaints work better. They directly go to a higher official usually an IAS officer and they get looked at. It doesn't take much time, so use that facility. Also leave any positive feedback as well.

Airtel, Cable etc., they come to our place. Usually we don't need to go to office, I think getting SIM card is little different may be after Mumbai attacks.

Revenue department and land registration is still bad, they have made things online long back but no improvement since then. They got to stop double registrations, very easy for them to do but they won't comply.

Police and courts still suck, more now than before.

Medicine and hospitals are a mixed back. The range is very good doctors, some of the best in the world to oxygen wasting morons. Be careful and if not sure have to take multiple opinions. Still lot of good doctors in India, some of them still do good public service.

Street food, take out, small to medium restaurants - Be very careful, the standards are deteriorating very fast here. You need to look for reputed ones or personal recommendations from closed ones.

Roads and Transport (RTA) departments are better but still need to improve.
[/LIST]

Good points. Regarding Land Registration, They introduced EC and Link document but still litigation and double registration fraud is going on, people can't just go and buy land like in usa, and cheating someone's hard working money is big pain to buyer, lot of people want to invest on land in india because land prices always go high in india but same time there is no security in buying land.

Next thing is Adulteration of all food products starting from Milk to Oil and all other things. even they are doing it in Liquor too. In india Eating outside is very dangerous specially because of bad oil(they are making with animal dead body and bones) , Govt. can stop this but officers are taking bribes and leaving these criminals. we can't get any pure food items like masala packets or any ready made food ingredients in shops.

GutsyGibbon;625544There is a method to the madness. If you don't know the method, its just madness.

If you had a whatsapp group of a hundred friends and cousins, someone would have known the exact speed achievable, correct shop and the right ma'm to go talk to. In that case it would be a one day job. Actual quote from a close friend "You people from the US think you can go anywhere, anytime, and get anything done from anyone" :) This was when I was trying to get my drivers license renewed on a Monday morning 10.00am. The real helpdesk guy had outsourced it to a some dude who knew nothing - Bangalore/Jayanagar RTO.

I reverted to my friends/relatives for actual Jayanagar RTO procedure. Once I had the right info (not the form found online, but the kannada version handed out at the RTO), info about the right person (real help desk guy - dude at the xerox/copy shop) and right time (Monday 12.00pm when the good RTO inspector is available), I got my license renewed with Rs 0.0 extra, delivered to my doorstep exactly on time. I was also advised to take my mother with me, and not wear NRI dress (shorts). My mother to read Kannada forms. I kid you not, the entire medical clearance form with all the diseases are in Kannada, I had to dig deep into my skill box to be able to read it all and fill it all. Life can be made easy, but it needs some preparation, close circle of advisors and an open mind.

You should join 'Kannada Kaliyona' classes in US to brush your kannada reading/writing :-)...