Read a news story today about the shortage of civil engineers in India and felt nostalgic about my construction engineering background. It seems that India is in dire need of at least 70,000 civil engineers an year against a supply of 10,000 odd. Most of the private engineering colleges have stopped offering and it is a pity that most of those who graduate drop out and join the lucrative IT sector. Though the entry barriers to join professional courses like engineering and medicine are almost none nowadays, it hurts to note that there are not many takers. Who will take up construction engineering and struggle with the low paying and gut wrenching jobs?
India's future lies in nation building with a chance to grow at 10% just by building more roads, ports and airports - creating employment for millions of people non-stop for the next 20 years at least. Who is going to lead India in this direction? - with a heavy heart from my air conditioned office overlooking mega construction projects (a casino and 3 high rise office towers) out here in Marina Bay, Singapore - I salute to the spirit of the great builders of modern India like E.Sreedharan.
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