Hat's Off to India Again - Indo British Entry Wins First Electric Motorcycle GP Ever By a Big Margin

An Indian company manufacturing high quality electric motors and a British engineering group put their strengths together recently to win the world's first ever TTXGP. As Gizmag, one of the sites that this blog subscribes to points out, this was by a very good margin: http://www.gizmag.com/ttxgp-electric-agni-first-clean-emissions-grand-prix/11949/

Most significantly, wasthe fact that this was a class win for bikes that cost below UK Pounds 30,000, a significant factor because this means that the bike is capable of being produced and sold at realistic prices with economies of scale working out in production. That the bike also won the overall victory, attests to the excellence of the design as it is potentially capable of beating more expensive bikes designed in technologically advanced countries.

Again, I am as positive about this as I am about the Tata plans to build electric versions of their cars for India. However, I must admit to caution about the Indian state's ability to provide power through clean means and on an uninterrupted basis - eight hour powercuts in most cities throughout the day are not a good thing for this sector. Neither is the fact, as my friend Mohanakrishnan likes to point out, that Coal India is putting huge sums of government money into importing coal to satisfy India's requirement for power while the government pays lip service to the idea of renewable energy.

That said, if the private sector is given the relevant permissions to do something in India, they are more than capable of doing extremely well. Team Agni underlines this fact. Congratulations, Team Agni, and Congratulations India. There is another entry about this at the best online motorcycling blog, The Kneeslider at: http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2009/06/12/team-agni-with-rider-rob-barber-wins-inuagural-ttxgp/#comments Those who wish to congratulate Team Agni would do well to do this in The Kneeslider. I am sure they check there like most motorcycling enthusiasts do.

India's Opposition Politicians Call Government BS on Power

Good friend Mohanakrishnan has sent this piece by former Indian Express Editor and MP Arun Shourie on the power situation in India: http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20090228/1241/top-half-truths-and-whole-lies.html Conveniently, Shourie does not do more than offer acute criticism. In the event that his party wins in the coming election, it would not help for him to articulate a solution that his own colleagues would almost certainly forget, like India's politicians are almost obliged to once they win.

That said, the state of Karnataka's regulation requiring new apartment buildings to mandatorily have solar powered water heaters is something that the rest of India needs to emulate. And the Government of India, the almighty power that feeds the Indian nation out of the goodness of its mammaries, could look at putting solar panels on government buildings. Prices for solar photovoltaics are low at the moment as the current recession bites across the world and the doofuses in Delhi could get a bargain if they tried to set up a tendering process for them. Let us hope that common sense (a very uncommon commodity in India, by the way) prevails at least as the country lurches towards an election.

Indian Opposition Parties Call Government BS on Power

A link sent my by friend Mohanakrishnan on Yahoo's Indian website has former Indian Express Editor and MP Arun Shourie call the government's lies on the power situation: http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20090228/1241/top-half-truths-and-whole-lies.html But Shourie is a politician these days and he confines his remarks to acute criticisms without offering any possible solutions to the crisis. Or, he may not be aware of the alternatives that are available and which could be used beginning tomorrow if the Indian government and private bodies in India so choose.

The state of Karnataka has introduced some sensible legislation mandating solar powered water heaters for all new multistorey apartment buildings. I think they need to go further by offering tax incentives to owners of older buildings and of individual homes to do the same. And, considering the problems that Bangalore has with power, why not ask all of the software companies - none of them are short a buck or two - to put solar photovoltaic panels on their rooftops? Indeed, why can't the almighty Government of India begin with a plan to make all buildings owned by the government either fully or partially powered by solar power? With the current glut in solar panel production and the low price of panels as many companies feel the recession bite across the world, this would be a superb time to buy and set this up.

Here's hoping for the best ONLY because this is an election year. Indian politicians work hardest in the run up to an election. Hopefully, in the two or three months ahead, they would do something useful on the power front.

Green Businesses and the Possible Dangers of Investing in Them

Good friend Mohanakrishnan posted this analysis on his investments blog about a company that has plans to manufacture biodiesel in the Southern Indian city of Hyderabad: http://mohanakrishnanb.blogspot.com/2008/12/interesting-small-cap.html and raises some very interesting questions that highlight not only the possible benefits and risks of investing in green businesses, but also, by extension, of the difficulties that potential entrepreneurs in this area face. The company that he speaks about is planning to manufacture and supply Bio-diesel to a Bus Transport company. It also plans to make money by selling carbon credits for the whole business of growing Jatropha and collecting carbon offset payments from polluting industries elsewhere. While, on the surface, this seems like a good idea, how is a potential investor to evaluate the business concerned before putting their money into the concerned company's shares? And, conversely, how is a potential entrepreneur who has plans to do something similar, to raise money for his / her business? The questions are intriguing, and, if you ask me, worrying as well. On them depends the future of the green dconomy to use a heavily clicheed term. Any responses to this question would be most welcome.