Narendra Modi - Prime Minister of India.

A happy day it was and I can't forget it so easily. The way Mr. Modi started the campaign, the way he systematized, the way he cared for every single vote and the projection of 'image'. Whatever it is, it's going to be a 'metric' to be measured against in the near future.

Now, I see some of his priorities are going in the much needed direction. i.e. Basic Infra. Glad to hear that, and I am sure solar, alternative energy production would gain a huge support in India. So does the japanese companies and investments.

Here is a wish list I am keen to see. These are no means in an order or priority. Also I am excluding the basic infra as it is almost 'given'. So Roads, Electricity and Clean water is not included.

• "clean & green" mindset. Create a culture of 'cleanliness' in the mindset of our children. The current generation is so spoiled, not an easy task to get rid of the mindset. Love to see a clean india atleast in 2050.
• Reduce "cost base" of Indian manufacturing or services. Today India is a very expensive place to tour, or travel to, or even to do business.
• Change the mindset of "private=bad"; or "companies=profit". The job of company is to make profit and employees are getting paid for it. No company = no job. Get away from communist, 70's mindset where companies means eating the flesh and drinking the blood of poor people.
• Create "nationalism". Start from the top and children. So one case, would love to see Modi to do a symbolic change to Mahindra instead of "A.B. Vajayee" introduced B.M.W. 
• Create good relations with Asia and create "Asia First"
• Make North-East "real part" of India. Hope to see India is a place where every Indian can live irrespective of religion, language or region.
• Reduce/remove the huge bureaucracy created by decades of in-efficiency. Good example, is putting an "automatic ticketing machine" but employing two people to issue tickets from the machine. What a waste. 
• Reduce Tax burden but expand the tax net. A study done by M&S showed that even a 7% GST on every transaction could remove all other personal and consumption taxes in India.
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SDN - A myth or reality

In my industry, we see some hype about some cutting edge technology every 3-5 years. I recall from the recent past IMS (IP-Multimedia System) as one of the most hyped item which fell apart. Now a days the most hyped (or abused) word is SDN.

SDN stands for Software Defined Network and it's been positioned by many vendors as the next big thing in Telecom/networking industry.

After listening to the same 'promises' for over an year and after speaking to many Tier-1 Telco CTO's/Architects, I deduce that SDN is not going to change any of the market dynamics(atleast in Asia) in next decade. Now, the problem is the attitude and the business models in APAC. Almost all the operators (expect some in Korea, Japan and now China) are modelled after a business entity which need to look in to cashflow in the short term. There are many, led by accountants, or finance folks but not by engineers. I don't see any great engineers in these firms but more of administrators 'managing' the networks with 90% help from the vendors. Also they are looking for 'cost efficiencies' but not some sort of innovation. Also another key issue is the 'risk avoidance/transfer' at all costs. i.e. it shouldnt go down, if it does then there has to be someone responsible.

Also the size of the networks (unlike USA/Australia our geography, and demands are diff) makes a big deal. If it's in the pure data centre model, then some operators may take a chance but how many of these operators going to implement a 'OEM' switch to carry mission critical applications? IMHO, almost none.

So here you go. SDN. Not so soon for us.