Innovations from East India
There is no question about India’s leading position in Information Technology. It may be surprising, however, that the communistically governed state of West Bengal (which has been so for 30 years now) has made amazing progress with regard to IT and is now showing the highest growth rates in India. Through reforms following the Chinese example, the democratically chosen government is actually pursuing the aim of ensuring education and prosperity for the over 80 million inhabitants. Kolkata, West Bengal´s capital, is turning into one of Asia´s new High-Tech centres. Also here, the technical revolution has led to the construction of various IT parks and Special Economic Zones. In Kolkata for example, after Sector V in Salt Lake and New Town in Rajarhat a third IT-centre with 630 acres of land is at present arising covering nearly 3 times the area of Salt Lake. Other flourishing IT centres of West Bengal with software technology parks can be found in the cities of Durgapur, Kharagpur, Siliguri and Haldia. Investors can profit from West Bengal`s main strengths: a cooperative government, low cost of operations, highly qualified staff, reliable availability of energy (a rare thing in India), the required infrastructure and good contacts with consulates and associations – all which make this region interesting, and not just for the IT industry. The professed aim of the government is to be one of the Top 3 Indian IT locations in 2010. These plans appear practicable if, as announced, large parts of the population can have access to education and technology competence as well as knowledge of government business (E-Governance). Researchers of West Bengals academic institutions, such as the renowned Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur not only ensure the education of highly qualified employees but are already cooperating closely with the IT industry. The positive technological changes lead to increased internationalization. West Bengal is becoming a strategic investment location for East and West. Su Yu Xi, China’s ambassador in India, regards Kolkata as the knowledge capital of the country and is certain of the strategic advantages for Chinese business people there. The first large Chinese investment for an Indian IT project will therefore take place in Kolkata. In 2006, the year of the Chinese-Indian friendship, the construction of the Bengal Peerless Nanjing High Tech Industry Investment Zone for 6 million U.S. dollars was agreed upon and initiated in March 2007. Both China and India see the necessity for intensified technological cooperation. Knowledge-based technologies like IT and biotechnology will be promoted in the new zone. After Nanjing, Bengal is planning cooperations with all the Chinese provinces, the first will be Beijing. Apart from this High-Tech zone, AXIS, a futuristic shopping centre with a range of Chinese and European goods on display will also emerge in New Town, Rajarhat. One cultural highlight of this lifestyle complex completed in the summer of 2008 will be a Mozart centre, and even more European presence is possible. This increased orientation to Europe is discernible through innovative media projects like the new European-Indian news agency INEPNEXT or the Bengal Website Europe News Today, projects with the aim of strengthening the exchange of knowledge and experience between the two continents. Kolkata’s principle focus in Europe is Germany. The German ambassador in India, Bernd Mützelburg, is impressed by the new look of the “City of Joy”, Kolkata. He confirms the great support of the dynamic Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for German investments (e.g. the recent “Hunger Hydraulics”) and points to the corresponding German response like the direct flight from Kolkata to Frankfurt three times a week. Inseparable links between Germany and West Bengal have now been forged and the time has come to diffuse the strengths of this knowledge and technology region to a broader audience.
Text: Anita Shukla
Picture: (c) Purvi Shah-Paulini
Episode 02/23 Wisdom Workshop: Sustainability – Cradle to Cradle with Heike Petersen Cunza (German)
With Wellicious, Heike has developed a brand for yoga clothing that focuses on honest and traceable sustainability. We talk about her path to becoming self-employed, which inner and outer processes the mother of three has gone through and which hurdles there are in building a sustainable brand. In this interview, we look at different aspects that are necessary to be able to grasp the complexity behind it. Thank you Heike, for this valuable interview, from which companies, suppliers and consumers can learn.
Pixabay Image by Gert Altmann
Episode 01/23 Wisdom Workshop: SCRUM in Intercultural Teams with Elisabeth Tieben (German)
What is Scrum? How can agile work be well designed in an international context? What are the challenges of agile working in a team that is collectivistic and hierarchical on the one hand and individualistic on the other? The independent systemic consultant, Elisabeth Tieben, has gained over 12 years of experience in agile project teams as an employed product manager, before she started her own business in 2022. I talk with her about the questions above.
Have fun listening to our conversation.
Episode 01/22: Daniela Sarrazin interviews me about “Endure and Trust” (German)
The first podcast this year, and this time I am interviewed by Daniela Sarrazin. Daniela describes the content in her introduction as follows: “In today’s podcast I get to have a wonderful, almost philosophical conversation with Purvi-Shah-Paulini. In it, we are talking about “enduring and trusting”. With a wonderful lightness, we address the topics of “enduring what is”; what “the” process of change does to us”; “trusting myself”; “accepting what my counterpart is all about”; “trusting your own life”; and ultimately, “believing that everything will be okay.””
Thank you, Daniela, for the lightness in this interview. I really enjoyed being on the “other side” for a change.
Episode 14/21: Wisdom Workshop “The Hayden Model” Interview with Julia Hayden (Interview in German)
“What are chakras in Hinduism are wheels in Taoism, for example, are plexus in popular medicine and spheres of the tree of life in Kabbalah. What in TCM is QI, we know in the West as breath or body fluids, the Vedas call it Prana. And in Japanese medicine the syllable “ki” in the word Reiki corresponds exactly to this life energy.
What in Hinduism are koshas, in conventional medicine are described as biosocial effect chains, and in Kabbalah teachings are levels of worlds.” From the manual The Hayden Model by Julia Hayden.
The Hayden Model serves as a facilitating toolbox to get closer to your inherent wisdom and power for self healing. It combines in a simple way, Western conventional medicine with Traditional Chinese Medicine, with Jewish Kabbalah teachings, with Vedic philosophy from India, with your own knowledge.
The teaching cards explain in their simplicity through pictures and words the interaction of all levels of your being. They are very specific to use, adapted to the particular body, practical to implement, easy to understand and simple to use.
Episode 13/21: The Wisdom Workshop on “Experiencing Leadership with Horse Coaching” Interview with Claudia Ahl (Interview in German)
“My vision is to create a humane environment for doctors, medical professionals and patients where health and healing can take place.”-Claudia Ahl
For 20 years now, Claudia Ahl’s heartfelt desire has been to help people develop their greatest potential and integrate it into their lives. For more than three years she has been applying her knowledge mainly for medical practices and clinics.
Together with her cooperation partners, Claudia has developed holistic solutions for the medical field that solve the main bottlenecks of personnel, structures and leadership issues. What can you learn from horses about leadership? Listen in.
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