The Making of India
Indians face a significant private cost of public failure. Across its public goods like power, roads, water, education, health and security (bijli, sadak, paani, shiksha, swasthya and suraksha), Indians have been offered poor outcomes as prices have been kept very low in the name of the poor.
The Making of India [2015] chronicles the opportunities for and challenges of India’s demographic dividend as it weaves itself through the transitions taking place in the economy. This change is shaping India’s job market, its cities, its industry and agriculture and its governance.
Throughout the book, we encounter pricing distortions made by the iron-hand of the government (either making something cheap relative to its market price or more expensive) which has distorted the incentives and growth in various sectors. India’s economy is opening up by removing such distortions and this is creating many opportunities for those willing to harness this change.
The Making of India narrates this story of India with a wide variety of facts, figures, analysis, anecdotes and insights. It is the story of India as it is being made – and you are sure to find yourself in many of these transitions.
What people say
It’s more an analyst’s / investor’s perspective which I find far more practical & actionable versus a theoretical economist’s book (too jargon-y and abstract) or a journalists’s book (often shallow / or agenda-driven with selective cherry picking of facts). And the line of thinking and facts echo my own thinking fully, except you’ve encapsulated them far more succinctly! The initial chapters on skilling as well as the section on private costs of public failure are simply mind blowing and deserve attention (and action) at the highest levels.
Utsav Mitra, Former Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Minister of Power, Coal and Renewable Energy, Govt of India
I enjoyed reading it. You have taken pains to mine extremely useful data from so many government sources. What I liked most was your incisive analysis and interpretation of data and projecting trends for the future. You need to be commended for tackling a wide canvas from agriculture to SME, Organized industry, services sector and macro themes around GDP, employment, poverty and more.
Pradeep Kashyap, Founder and CEO, MART
Other writings
I’ve also written another book called ‘Through the Looking Glass’ as well as many articles on economics and policy making.
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Akhilesh Tilotia 