Civil Matters ~ Properly Paying Indian Engineers...

Vikas Bajaj writes in the NYTimes about India, A High-Tech Titan Plagued by Potholes. No surprise, though, since they don't properly pay for talent.

"India’s full economic potential is stifled by potholed roadways, collapsing bridges, rickety railroads and a power grid so unreliable that many modern office buildings run their own diesel generators to make sure the lights and computers stay on. It is not for want of money. The Indian government aims to spend $500 billion on infrastructure by 2012 and twice that amount in the following five years. The problem is a dearth of engineers -- or at least the civil engineers with the skill and expertise to make sure those ambitious projects are done on time and up to specifications. Civil engineering was once an elite occupation in India, not only during the British colonial era of carving roads and laying train tracks, but also long after independence as part of the civil service. These days, though, India’s best and brightest know there is more money and prestige in writing software for foreign customers than in building roadways for their nation. [Says a representative Indian engineer] "It was fun doing that," he said of the construction job. "My only dissatisfaction was the pay package."

Hello, isn't it blindingly obvious that quantity of compensation attracts quality of talent?!