I hope the new year has begun on a positive note for you.
Speaking to a few security industry leaders in the past couple of weeks, I gathered the impression that the overall state of the business for the industry has not been too bad. Business may not have been sky rocketing for some but it definitely was not in a deep dive mode either for most others. No doubt, the funds situation remains tight as local and foreign investments in new projects continue to remain on hold. Everybody seems to be playing the wait and watch game, but I am sure we will see signs of this ending in Q1 of 2014!
Recalling last month’s IFSEC – personally, I was delighted to meet and chat up with friends that I had not seen in a while, but apart from that, I did not find it to be very exciting. Having grown as a major trade show in the Indian marketplace, the 2013 edition lacked innovation. It seems that the experienced organizers have run out of new ideas. The conference was bereft of an audience, as a result many speakers abandoned their slots and the conference area bore a desolate and deserted look. This is not to say that other conferences that piggyback on exhibitions have done very well in the past, they also faced a similar challenge of getting an eager audience to listen to knowledgeable speakers. Someone will have to circumvent this ‘chicken and egg’ situation with some out-of-the-box ideas, as it is only with professional interaction that problems impacting the protection industry surface and new solutions are found that may comprise of process changes, improving best practices and innovating technology.
Aditya Infotech, the CCTV giant in India, again stole the limelight and was easily the super star, rocking the show with a mammoth booth and at least a couple of thousand of its dealers thronging the aisles!
Elsewhere, we saw elections to the legislative assembly in five states of India take place where people voted to elect their local governments. From the results declared, it was heartening to note that citizens of India have at last begun voting for candidates that have either shown a successful track record or aspirants that can convincingly demonstrate an unblemished past and have the ability to influence the voter about their honest intentions to do-good. It is a separate story whether the ‘new kids in the block’, such as the AAP party that won a sizeable number of seats in Delhi, performs well or not, the thing that impressed me was the emerging tendency of the common man to think before voting! This change, if sustained, can be the big global game changer to propel India into the super league of world economies, much as the indigenous cryogenic engine driven GSLV-D5 has done!
As SECURITY TODAY heads to Dubai for the INTERSEC – a trade show that I’m personally very fond of, I wish all my fellow Indians a very happy and joyous Republic Day!
Cheers & Happy Reading,
G B Singh
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