"It was a wonderful experience interacting with you and appreciate the way you have planned and executed the whole publication process within the agreed timelines.”
Subrat SaurabhAuthor of Kuch Woh Pal
The Modi government’s strategy for India’s development defies easy understanding. It breaks conventional categorization such as short-term vs long-term, rural vs urban, rich vs poor, and government vs people. Those who do not see the strategy as a whole or have a blinkered vision tend to perceive it negatively.
Even economists, to whom people look for guidance, are at loss. Instead of clarifying, they seem to be adding to the confusion. It’s not just that different economists have different takes on it, but some have been flip-flopping.
So, what is this strategy? What is driving it: circumstances or a game plan? Is the strategy autonomously determined or is it subservient to politics? Are Modi’s various welfare programs driven solely by political considerations or do they fit within a larger development paradigm? Is the strategy reactive and short-sighted or pro-active and forward-looking? What does it show us about Modi’s style of functioning?
How is the Modi government capitalizing on the unique situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic? How is the administration taking advantage of changing geopolitics? How effective have policies such as Make-in-India and Atmanirbhar Bharat been? What about the mantra of minimum government, maximum governance?
While seeking to answer these questions, the book places Modi’s development strategy in perspective. The book provides a high-level view of the strategy which otherwise gets lost in discussions entangled in the weeds.
Rajeev Ahuja
Rajeev Ahuja, Ph.D., is a development economist with over 20 years of work experience. He has served as a senior economist in Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as an economist in the World Bank, and as a senior research fellow at Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. He had also been a consultant to UNDP, ILO, DFID, and Harvard School of Public Health.
Although his recent work has mostly been in the health sector, he brings a rounded perspective on various development issues. He has published extensively in national and international periodicals. Of late, he has been freelancing and seeking to shape public debate in India through his writings in national dailies.
