Guest Column

The citizens of the global village of today are joining hands together to celebrate the life and contributions of world poet Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore- an institution in himself on the occasion of his 150th birthday anniversary.

This past Christmas, I gave my children a complete bound set of the Encyclopedia Britannica, thinking that this would be a wonderful way to spur their education and satisfy their curious minds.

The feedback I got from my eldest, in high school, was that first, this didn’t “count” as a gift, since it was an educational item, and second, that it was doubtful that the information was “current,” since in his mind, anything in hard copy was dated before the ink dried. From his middle-school younger sister, the feedback was marginally more positive, as apparently she appreciated the “graphics” and “format,” as “old school cool” but still, helpful.

It may seem odd to suggest that Italy be the model for Korea in its future development in technology. Although Italy does not hold the dominant position in high volume manufacturing that Korea possesses, Italy offers exactly what Korea needs to jump into the next stage of economic development: an emphasis on fashion and ergonomics. Italy has established itself as the undisputed leader in design, with such names as Gucci, Prada and Ferragamo in fashion and in the automotive sector with leaders such as Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini. The aesthetic sensibility and artistic quality found in Italian products are what Korean products lack today.

Let us start with the basic facts. Korea does not need more technology at this point and it does not need more manufacturing capacity. It needs to build cutting-edge devices that will capture the imagination of users and define new fields, along the lines of the I-Phone.

Let us consider the case of handheld devices. Korea must dominate the high-end of handheld devices and use that position to make its brand value unassailable along the lines of Gucci or Ferrari.

Many have said the United States will soon find itself embroiled in fierce competition with other nations over the fast-growing clean-energy market.

For years now, English Premier League clubs have cast expectant eyes toward the Far East football market as part of efforts to propel their global brands.

If there is a success story in the 60 years of independence that has metamorphosed India onto the world stage and has benefited the common man, knowledge based services and the elite of society, it is the fourth dimension of transportation TELECOM; after Land, Sea and Air.  

Not only is telecom connectivity an important part of the effort to upgrade the national infrastructure, but it is also required to establish India on the global map.