Some snaps from the snow storm last week!

After a noteworthy last year in terms of image build up, Pune is still making news. More and more people are recognizing the city as a favourable business destination. The lastest from Forbes categorizes Pune in the "Emerging Global Cities" category.

Its a real heartning sign. And a lot of credit needs to go to this government. Atleast in terms of making the right noises. Remember Vilasrao calling up Murthy immediately after the Gowda episode and making it known to the whole world. That was a masterstroke. Even though Infosys did not promise anything, the move by CM sent the right signals to the industry. The local administration also did their bit in the past few months. Various schemes like public private partnerships (with tax sops for the companies) for constructing roads, use of captive power for general public, etc have been announced further increasing the attractiveness for businesses.

The city had a head start in the early 90's in terms of IT businesses and talent. Pune had a lot of things going in its favour. Infosys was started in Pune. Patni and TCS were always here. But the governments then did not take any initiatives. They just waited for things to happen. The script was lost somewhere during the late 90's, mostly during the SS - BJP rule. A lot of companies shyed away from Pune and Maharashtra during this period.

The basics are all in place. The city has abundant talent, great climate, beautiful outskirts, strong industry and proximity to the financial capital of the country. Its also the city where the world's happiest Indians live.

Now only a decent infrastructure needs to be built. Pune is getting all the attention it needs now. from the state and the central government. This is the make or break time. I hope the government lives up to the expectations.