Letters
The story misses out on the point that Dell has not been able to take on the local manufacturers in China and the same story may be repeated in India too

With Crossed Fingers
The cover story—Billions To Come With Dell—lines up the company’s India plans and how the money would flow once its assembly unit is in place but it misses out on some crucial points. The time to deliver a product to the retail customer is still very high for Dell, three to four weeks. This might be because the machines are being imported. Dell anyway cannot beat the touch-and-feel experience offered by other companies. The story also misses out on the point that Dell has not been able to take on the local manufacturers in China and the same story may be repeated in India. Price, discounts and offers are the order here and Dell is traditionally known to have avoided such marketing gimmicks.

Ajay John
Panaji

The Other Side
The feature Caught In No Man’s Land rightly talks about how India may lose out on foreign direct investments if big-ticket projects like Posco get delayed, but it fails to talk about the other side—the plight of the farmers, who make up 70% of the Indian population. The protests against the special economic zones and other such projects are justified as they involve forcible procurement of land and unjustifed tax breaks to the wealthy but hardly create any benefits, including jobs, in relation to the number of people they displace. The farmer today has no option but to sell his land below the market price, thanks to the middlemen. While India Inc is trying to woo policy makers and farmers with promise of industrialisation and job generation, how much of that materialises is anybody’s guess. If it really wants to help farmers it can look at labour-intensive alternatives like agricultural food processing. It is time for the government to walk the talk and formulate a relief and rehabilitation project keeping in mind the interests of the farmers, and not just the corporates.

Arvind Guha
Mumbai

Prudent Move
Ranbaxy did the right thing by withdrawing from the Merck deal. It makes no sense chasing deals that will prove a drain on the finances. Companies like Ranbaxy, which have been exploring foreign shores with unabated passion, should be careful in snapping up firms. It’s very essential to be financially prudent and companies that show unrestrained passion in buying abroad may end up shooting themselves in the foot. Ranbaxy made a wise decision in pulling out of the race. For this, the young Malvinder has to be commended.

Anju Thomas
Faridabad

In Top Gear
Apropos your feature on automobile components—Small Parts, Big Story—it is quite natural that when car manufacturers decide to set up shop in India, their ancillary units will follow. Maruti Udyog in Gurgaon and Hyundai in Tamil Nadu have attracted many component makers. Many luxury car manufacturers have announced plans to enter India. It is now up to the Indian auto component manufacturers to upgrade and expand their facilities to ensure that local sourcing grows. It is heartening to read that most of them are gearing up to face the challenges that lie ahead in the domestic market as well as to grab opportunities in the overseas market. The key to their survival is to keep costs down through innovation.

Reena Gupta
New Delhi

Coming Boom
Your article on the boom in the auto component industry highlighted just how much India’s ancillary sector has to fire to help its booming economy and achieve economies of scale to compete with global biggies. A vibrant auto component sector bodes well for the larger automobile industry. It would help the sector get critical components quicker and cheaper as well as ensure thousands of jobs for the semi-skilled. James

Samuel
Thiruvananthpuram

No Move!
Our feature Caught In No Man’s Land indicated that Soung-Sik Cho, Managing Director of Posco, was headed back home due to little progress on the ground. The company has clarified that there is no such move.