Goa, India, this nation’s economy is booming

There are streets of million dollar homes in Bangalore.

There are huge drug manufacturers turning out medicines for the world.

Yet, everything is still a bargain — about 75 per cent less expensive than the US and Europe on many levels.

Far from perfect, the economy is slowly transforming into a thriving middle class. Here are some of my observations from my last week in the country:

Entrepreneurs are thriving. In the last few days, I have met several self-made millionaires.

One runs an eco lodge near Indian temples, and he has built an array of first-class villas in a park that contains some of the most rare and valuable plants in the world.

Another is the leading manufacturer of ibuprofen.

He has branched into the life sciences and now has a stem cell storage facility where individuals can make sure that they have stem cells to fight diseases of the future. 

Another owns a food manufacturing company that sells health food, coffee and healthy snacks. It will be going worldwide by this time next year.

Education is encouraged. Instead of encouraging their children to marry wealthy spouses, parents are telling their offspring to find a spouse with a strong educational background. 

This simple change is a major cultural shift.

Building is booming. Two major cities, Calcutta and New Delhi, have good underground rail transportation.

Chenai is in the process of building one. To visit one of these cities is to discover construction at almost every corner.

Colonialism is departing. Names are returning to their pre-colonial roots. For example, Madressa is now Chenai.

Pharmaceutical companies have an eye on the future.

Chemists are busy putting together solutions for future illnesses and profits.

I watched millions of pills get their final coating and quality control at a massive production facility in Pondicherry.

The betting game is that obesity, diabetes and pain relief will continue to be some of the biggest health obstacles facing mankind.

New religious philosophies are evolving. 

India has allowed new religious ideas to take hold and there’s no better place to find an example than in Auroville. 

It is a community of 2,000, nestled in southern India. 

The focus is finding enlightenment beyond today’s established religions.

It has attracted people from over 40 countries to a property whose centrepiece is a giant copper dome where hundreds meditate about future possibilities.

Justice is swift. For the last few days, I’ve been watching the official reaction to a building collapse that took 17 lives and injured many more.

A quick inspection found that two adjoining buildings were also unsafe and occupants were forced to move.

More impressive, a top city official, the chief building inspector and the construction company executives are facing criminal charges.

In many places, the bad guys would never be punished.

Tourism has found new niches. After 9/11, tourism went dormant in Goa like it did in most of the world.

Europeans stopped coming to the sunny shores and beaches in the southwest of India. But that has been transformed.

Today, the European winter season attracts tourists from places like America, Israel and Russia.

The hot off-season is attracting a growing Indian middle class from places like Delhi.

The reason: Indians don’t like to sit in the sun or go swimming. They are attracted to the ecosystem.

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