Changes I Saw

01 Nov 2022 - Tanmay Jha

Cleanliness

My first day back, I woke up at 3 AM because of jet lag. After tossing around for a few hours, I decided to go take a walk. It was around 6 AM and there was already plenty of sunlight. The first thing that I noticed was just how clean everything was. I hadn’t been home since 2018, and it certainly did not use to be as clean as this. There was dust of course, and some hanging broken wires above the sidewalk, but no trash anywhere. While this is not true of all areas, in general the cleanliness levels have become much better.

Internet

The next thing to surprise me was the internet connectivity. In 2018, the Jio revolution had already crashed mobile data prices and even broadband providers had started offering plans with 40-50 MBPS speeds, but the general connectivity experience was still dismal for mobile data. I would lose 4G/3G coverage just walking around the block, and typically would get speeds hovering around 500 kbps regardless of which network I was using. Mobile data would crawl to snail’s pace in Delhi airport. This time, I was able to get 8-10 MBPS speeds even in the airport. The prices have gone up though, since a lot of carriers have gone out of business. You typically have to get monthly or annual plans even for prepaid, very much like the US. The days of pay-as-you-go and maintaining a second phone number with a 20rs recharge are long gone.

While the promised speeds for home internet are 100-200 MBPS, in reality you get 20-50 MBPS most of the time. Still, those are quite respectable and so far I haven’t missed US internet providers. This is a massive improvement from 2014 (the year I moved to the US), when a 8 MBPS plan with 50 gigs of monthly data was the best you could get, and would cost an arm and a leg and still not work properly.

Inflation

Prices for most things have roughly doubled from 2018 (last time I was in India) to 2022 (the year I moved back). This is mostly based on my anecdotal experience and not the consumer price index. My haircut has gone from 50 to 100, my uber to a friend’s place from 50 to 100 and even my pears soap has gone from 45 to 90. Despite these prices being quite low in dollar terms, I was getting some serious sticker shock. This is something I had not expected. Oh also, scooties like Honda Activa have gone from 50K to 1 lakh.

UPI

UPI was still in its infancy in 2018. Post demonetization, my friends and family had finally started using their debit cards but still preferred cash when possible. Now, no one uses cash anymore. Card coverage has increased, but UPI is the undisputed king. From your local vegetable hawker all the way to Apple’s App store, UPI is the payment method of choice.

Home delivery

Home delivery of everything is the new mantra here nowadays. No middle class person I know does grocery shopping on their own anymore. There are apps like BigBasket and BlinkIt that do 15 min deliveries for groceries and essentials for a small fees of Rs. 20. Next day delivery is available for a larger selection of items. Amazon has next day delivery and AmazonFresh delivery just like the US. Typically most neighborhood shops, supermarkets and medical stores also do home delivery, although that is not as quick as 20 mins but still same day. Alcohol delivery remains illegal, but some shops tend to offer it unofficially.

Bars, cafes and clubs

I cannot recall many functioning bars, clubs or coffee shops in Lucknow in 2018. Alcohol was still taboo, and while coffee shops like CCD and Vintage machine existed, they were mostly few and far between. A flying saucer cafe had opened in 2018, but it was having trouble getting a liquor license. This time, there were bars, clubs and coffee shops on every corner. I am not quite sure what happened, but finding good coffee is no longer a problem.

Digitization

A lot of stuff is now fully or partially digitized. From getting a new sim card to opening a bank account, a lot of stuff doesn’t require you to leave your home. For bank accounts and sim cards, typically you can have someone come to your place for KYC. For getting a drivers license, you can start the process online but still have to visit a RTO to finish the process. For doing anything with Aadhaar cards, you can do some stuff online and the rest requires a visit to an Aadhaar center. While you may have to wait a bit, most of this stuff gets done without paying a bribe nowadays.

At the same time, the level of digitization is still much behind the US, so expect some frustration for routine things. For example, if you want to add a temporary address to your bank account or change your permanent address, expect to provide proof of address like a notarized rent agreement, in person verification etc. These things add a lot of delay to routine processes. You will face these issues even with private banks, since a lot of this stems from RBI regulations.

Government run banks still rely on paper forms, branch visits and photocopies.