Starting out on your own (pool our resources?)

[psagarn]

Did any one think of pooling the resources and starting something as a group. Think about it, right now there are people in every nook and corner of big cities, sitting on a lot of cash, pondering over bazillions of business ideas. What do we have that they don't? I will tell you what we got; we have experienced first hand what we want i.e. we want to make India a great country and we all are living or have lived in a great country i.e. USA. If we act individually, there won't be enough capital to start something that other guys sitting in those cities can't. But if we pool our resources we can start something really big and succeed. We all talk about infrastructure problems, how about investing in Power generation? I know IREDA finances upto 85% of the project cost and a 1 MW wind turbine can be set up for under Rs. 50 million. How about setting up an NRI city with amenities that are identical to what we have here in US. Really well planned green communities with houses that have gardens in front of them...porches, basement game rooms and all. 24 hrs power and water, nice roads and all. How about something on the line of Dave & Busters or Six flags or a big water resort. Think about it!

[psagarn]

6o reads and no response, there must be something wrong with the way I wrote this post! So here I go again. All of us fret over poor infrastructure facilities provided by government and rightly so. All Indian governments (no matter which party they belonged to) have only tried to milk the public. They treat politics as an industry where they can earn a return of 100x. People sitting in India do not realize this (I am talking about masses whose vote can be bought or sold for 500 bucks, who can be transported to Delhi or state capitals to prove political parties strenght, by giving them a few hundred bucks and food for a couple of days). Its only when people like us come out of our pigeon holes and see what real "civilization" is, we see what is wrong and how we can correct it. We baost ourselves as the largest democracy where as we are the largest "failed" democracy. Anyways, no point in explaing the symptoms, its the cause that is important to come up with the solution. IMHO, the very cause of these problems is our failure to act as a society. We only care about our personal interests and when it comes to a choice we put personal interests before the larger cause of the society/nation. This changes the moment we step out of India, we become most responsible citizens wherever we go.
What I want to do is start a fresh i.e. develop a community (can be even a business community) where in we all act as responsible members of a society, we trust each other, we work together to strenghten this bond and I mean literally work together as part of one business, we help each other in our hard times, we fight together against what is bad, against injustice. No doubt India is prospering economically but with the current state of society and government, this prosperity is meaningless. Look at Indian/Foreign MNCs, what are they do doing for the society? Some one needs to work on that front. We (Indians living in USA) represent what is best in India, we are daring coz we left our home country to be something (in that sense we are no less than those who founded this great country called America), we are smart coz we are doing better than a whole lot many here in US, we can achieve whatever we want to! All we need is a strong resolution. Lets get together and do something meaningful for our society/country/humanity. Lets build an America with in India!

[restlessdesi]

#1,

When I read your post, it was 84 views (and counting) without any responses. While your intentions are honorable, I suggest you approach this more with a "capitalistic" frame of mind (make money while contributing) to get potential partners rather then the "socialistic" approach that you currently have. "Green" or "no green", you will be pleasantly surprised by the people who want to join you if you have a realistic business plan that promises good returns.

My 2 cents.

[psagarn]

Thanks for your feedback, appreciate your suggestion, but I beg to differ here!
For the cause that I listed in this thread, I don't think people who just want to jump in, make some quick bucks and get out, would be good choice. Like I said, we need to create a community that understands that to make India a great country, we need to rise above our personal aspirations. You have rightly raised an implied concern that why would people do it? My answer to that is, if people can think long term i.e. not only about their immediate future but also about their children's future, they would do it. Its like creating another google; you have to have people who believe in making the internet/world a better place even if that means providing free services in the begining. At that stage, not many people will believe in you and hence won't support you but once you have things set up your way, you are the king. And when I say "you", I am talking about the society and the system that creates those kings.
We all complain about politics, infrastructure problems and corruption but no body does anything against it. It is not going to happen on its own. Indians have been ruled over for 1000 years now. Taking things in our hands and correcting something that is wrong, is out of our genes at this point. Its going to take a collective effort to fight and eliminate all that is bad in India. I am not saying lets leave our jobs/families and become another Gandhi coz that is not possible. But we can make a good start by forming a community that has all that we dream India will have someday.

[r2ikyon]

there was a similar thread earlier

http://www.r2iclubforums.com/clubvb/showthread.php?t=661&highlight=business

[sagarmail]

We already have places like Dave & Busters or Six flags in India. And some people like Vijay Amirtharaj already developing seperate communities (or mini cities) like you find here or even better. And they are affordable too.

I am not sure which part of India you are from... you need to do some research.

And you said ...you wanted to do make India a great country., But why NRI city? Are the good things not open for People in India? Are they not entitled as an Indian to your benefits?

My 2c.

Did any one think of pooling the resources and starting something as a group. Think about it, right now there are people in every nook and corner of big cities, sitting on a lot of cash, pondering over bazillions of business ideas. What do we have that they don't? I will tell you what we got; we have experienced first hand what we want i.e. we want to make India a great country and we all are living or have lived in a great country i.e. USA. If we act individually, there won't be enough capital to start something that other guys sitting in those cities can't. But if we pool our resources we can start something really big and succeed. We all talk about infrastructure problems, how about investing in Power generation? I know IREDA finances upto 85% of the project cost and a 1 MW wind turbine can be set up for under Rs. 50 million. How about setting up an NRI city with amenities that are identical to what we have here in US. Really well planned green communities with houses that have gardens in front of them...porches, basement game rooms and all. 24 hrs power and water, nice roads and all. How about something on the line of Dave & Busters or Six flags or a big water resort. Think about it![/quote]

[psagarn]

sagarmail,
Can you give me some examples of "places like D&B and six flags"?

As for community developed by VJ Amritraj, I think you are under estimating indian economy, it can absorb a number of such communities. Also, what I am talking about is much more than just a housing community, our community will share more than just a piece of land. It will be a commitment to a better society. VJ has a different motive altogether than us.


Regarding the research that I need to do, I do not want to comment on that coz it would be detrimental to my cause.


And you said ...you wanted to do make India a great country., But why NRI city? Are the good things not open for People in India? Are they not entitled as an Indian to your benefits?
Again, you understood it wrong. What I said was that people in this forum would appreciate such an initiative more than the people who are living in India and are quite used to all the bad aspects of current Indian society. I never said "Lets not permit any of the non-r2i people in here".

Your comments are appreciated!

[psagarn]

MeraNaseeb,
May be you are right and my motive is not so clear in here, so here I go again.

I want to build up a community of intelligent people who are ready to stop whining about the problems that India is currently facing and expected to have in future, and do something about it. As the first step, I think, we can come together for a common, more acceptable cause like that of building a decently profitable business (not a rip off to our customers). This business could be as simple as buying and developing a piece of land for a housing community for people like us who want to go back to India. Again, this business would just be a vehicle to bring like minded people together, people who are smart enough to understand that there is no future of theirs and their families unless the society we live in is set staright (by us).

Comments?

[sagarmail]

Gotcha.. Appreciate your thoughts.

MeraNaseeb,
May be you are right and my motive is not so clear in here, so here I go again.

I want to build up a community of intelligent people who are ready to stop whining about the problems that India is currently facing and expected to have in future, and do something about it. As the first step, I think, we can come together for a common, more acceptable cause like that of building a decently profitable business (not a rip off to our customers). This business could be as simple as buying and developing a piece of land for a housing community for people like us who want to go back to India. Again, this business would just be a vehicle to bring like minded people together, people who are smart enough to understand that there is no future of theirs and their families unless the society we live in is set staright (by us).

Comments?[/quote]

[back_in_des]

I do not think M.K. Gandhi sought advice to move from South Africa and start the effort to free India from British. There was no social networks, forums, and web back then. Who could he have talked to? few more brown skinned people like him and a lot of black skinned people living in apartheid... How could they have motivated him to take this step?

I know this is a digression, so I'll keep it short and to the point -

M K Gandhi did have an excellent social network wherever he went. Ofcourse, no web forums back then, but he was part of discussion groups that met regularly.

He talked to many people. He had the habit of talking to the successful or the influential. He was in touch with the likes of gokhale and tilak much much before he R2Ied. He did seek advise from them on all matters including his stay in SA.

He travelled back to India from SA and met these folks as part of rallying Indian congress support for Indians and other minorities in SA. He always believed that he can fix the problems under the British empire's rule. He was motivated to return to India when he was made to realize that self-rule is the way to go.

My understanding is based on reading "Experiments with life," his autobiography.