Just a few months back, they were poster boys for business feud, brothers bickering over the legacy of the paterfamilias. Financial analysts and investors have since then concluded that Mukesh and Anil Ambani have found their respective feet. But there’s something more happening. As Mukesh wraps up the Haryana SEZ deal and reportedly eyes Bengal for another big project and as Anil’s Mumbai metro rail project, inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday starts taking shape, it is possible to wonder whether the Ambani brothers and some other corporate players are part of the first rush in building a new brick-and-mortar reality. That their companies account for four per cent of India’s GDP makes any new trend in the Ambani brothers’ investments an economic bellwether. But, and this is the good news, the brothers are joined by firms like GMR, GVK, Punj Lloyd, the Adani group, Mahindras, the Videocon group, Essar and others, in building things India desperately needs: industrial hubs, modern urban transport systems, modernised ports and airports. Should the flood promised by these early tidings materialise, it would be a smart thing to keep certain things in mind.If this ‘India building’ phase takes off, it would demonstrate that it is possible to invert history and succeed. Developed countries have generally built their infrastructure before taking a high technology/service leap. China has roughly followed the same path. India, in contrast, succeeded in IT and telecom and in services generally while its infrastructure remained substandard. Of course, it would have been wonderful had the two proceeded simultaneously. But the late start has the advantage of giving governments a warning: look at big infrastructure projects as a crucial necessity and remember your role is that of a facilitator for public good.How politicians read this is also crucial because in this phase of growth, corporates will inevitably get bigger. Big corporations, as our columnist in this page argues, are rational economic responses to modernisation. Accountability in government-corporate dealings is therefore hugely important if projects are not to get caught in scandal-mongering. Many Reliance projects, for example, have attracted excited whispers and many politicians have figured in them. All this is no good. Entrepreneurs can build India — as long as politicians can show a minimum amount of smartness and transparency.
