<T N Ninan: Power shift WEEKEND RUMINATIONS T N Ninan / New Delhi July 12, 2008 Mumbai has long prided itself on being the country's commercial capital. Maybe the time has finally come for it to give up such notions. For, a news report last week said that, for the first time, there are more airline flights operating out of Delhi than Mumbai....the information on air traffic caps the mounting evidence of a shift in the centre of economic gravity.....This is not to argue that Mumbai leads in nothing. It remains the unchallenged king of the financial world, which means banking, insurance, the stock market and much else. It houses the big four of the corporate world (Tata, Kumar Mangalam Birla and the two Ambanis). And Mumbai still has many of the charms that it first acquired as a presidency town: a can-do spirit, an excellent work ethic, civility in daily exchanges between people, safety on the streets, a cosmopolitan air that survives the assaults by the Shiv Sena, and a practical approach to living and dealing - all of which compare favourably with Delhi's more complex mix of aggression and brash self-confidence....What tilts the scales decisively is the quality of life in the two cities. Delhi has constantly improving civic infrastructure, affordable housing, more sensible rental laws, and reasonable commuting times, whereas Mumbai looks increasingly down at heel and overwhelmed by its problems, and is now unable to cope with its monsoon showers....**The harsh truth is that no city can continue to prosper and grow if it is not a transport hub and if it is not a preferred place for living and working,** as Dubai has become. As for Delhi, by 2010 it will almost certainly have the bigger, busier and swankier airport, with a smoother ride into town assured by a new expressway. Almost any visitor's first impressions will be better in Delhi than in Mumbai, and that is half the battle.>
The "harsh truth" above applies in spades to Goa. Hence it needs to pull up its socks and, for starters, rethink its air connectivity to Indian cities, both big and small, instead of adopting the favoured ostrich position.