I may lose a battle but I will never lose a minute, said Napoleon Bonaparte. Nowhere should his aphorism resonate more than in developing countries like India, where every moment lost counts for a great deal because we have so far to go to reach the goals of development: not just economic, but particularly in health, livelihoods and education, amongst others. Echoing the thought is the line from Chilean poet and Nobel laureate Gabriela Mistral: “To him we cannot answer ‘Tomorrow’. His name is ‘Today’.”
Yet, so much work and so many crucial projects are delayed, deadlines are missed, and there is little sense of urgency. In every city across the country, the one common sight is roads and footpaths dug up for repairs for months on end, endless dust and traffic jams due to road-broadening projects, perpetually under-construction foot overbridges (FOBs) and subways, and inexplicable delays in approvals for badly needed infrastructure.