Category: Day three has actually turned out much like day two, a continuation of my illness. While I’ve been able to maintain my ‘attend every class and guest speaker’ resolution, I did need to bend the rules a bit for GMI, day 2. Nothing like coming into a 3-hour class about 1.5 hours late (9:30 a.m.), and having the only seats available being front and center. It was a nice touch when I raised my hand to participate, and have Prof. Francis ask “Have you been sitting there the whole time? How did I not see you?” in a nice, sarcastic tone!
Uh, I was preoccupied? The dog ate my stomach? Something like that.
The highlight of today was probably the guest speaker, Mr. Mukul Khanna, from Idea Cellular. India is 2nd to only China in terms of the number of handsets per month activated (up to 10mm per Mr. Khanna’s estimate, 90% of those pre-paid phones), so it was great to hear about the unique challenges and opportunities that such growth affords. I think the best part of the speech was the point where Mr. Khanna showed a homemade-looking device that allowed Indian’s to use two SIM cards in one phone. While it sounded like this was frowned upon by the telecom companies, having two SIM cards allows the user to check the real-time price of service, then choose the cheapest service.
Just as the professional billiards player doesn’t have to formally understand geometry, but “knows” it when taking each shot, this dual-SIM device shows an amazing example of the power of economics. I’m sure that most people who use such a device aren’t thinking about Adam Smith when they switch providers at a moments notice, but that doesn’t mean the “invisible hand” isn’t guiding them! The best, best, best part (I need to find some better adjectives) is that cell service in India is approximately $5 (Rs 250) per month.
Tonight, I’ll be reading some case studies, doing some (easy) statistics homework…maybe if I get brave, I’ll even eat some dinner. Being sick is getting pretty old now, and with 5 more days of official residency left, I better be able to leave the hotel before leaving Delhi.
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