Imagining India  (English, Paperback, Nilekani Nandan)

In Imagining India: Idea Of A Renewed Nation, Nandan Nilekani takes a look at India’s development as a growing economic power, its future prospects, and the reforms needed to ensure its successful future.

Summary Of The Book

India has grown into a power to be reckoned with, economically. The tremendous economic changes that the country has witnessed in the last decade or two, has led to major changes: cultural, political as well as social. Internationally too, the country has come of age on the political scene. In his book,Nandan Nilekani, the co-founder of one of the biggest Indian Multinationals, Infosys, uses his global experience as a prominent, and respected entrepreneur, and gives us an explicit interpretation of the past, present, as well as the country’s coming future.

Having participated, from the forefront, in India’s economic growth, he has the experience which enables him to predict the economic future of this fast growing nation, and to point out the changes and reforms required to ensure its growth. In Imagining India, Nilekani focusses on the internal challenges that India is facing, and the measures required to address these issues.

India, according to him has tremendous potential, which it has not yet realized. And to achieve this, it first has to tackle some deep rooted, and age old internal issues. Problems in health, education, environment have to be dealt with head on. The social, educational, monetary inequalities are responsible for stunting India’s growth - these have to be resolved. Good education, job opportunities have to be made available to all. Caste system and other such social evils have to be wiped out. Urbanization has to be encouraged. All inequalities, and differences which are limiting our ability to take advantage of the great opportunities that come our way have to abolished.

Nilekani has often encountered questions on why India, one of the world’s fastest growing democracies, has Asia’s second largest slum, or why this haven for outsourcing has the maximum number of school dropouts, why red tapism makes investments and business so difficult in India. And most of these, Nilekani has found difficult to answer. Bringing to the reader’s notice his experiences, he makes us aware of the drastic measures we have to take to improve our reputation, and encourage multinational investments, and business.

Looking at India’s growth since its independence, Nilekani envisions brighter prospects for the country if these basic changes and reforms are brought about. What we need, according to him, are innovative and firm ideas, focussing on rational outcomes and results, and, people strong enough to implement these ideas.

About Nandan Nilekani

One of the most prominent Indian entrepreneurs, Nilekani co-founded Infosys, in 1981, along with Narayana Murthy, and five others.

Nilekani has received various awards for his contribution. For his innovative services in economic sciences, economy, and politics, he was given the Joseph Schumpeter Prize. In 2006, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan. in 2006, and the Time magazine listed him among the 100 most influential people in the world. In the year 2007, he was named Businessman of the Year by Forbes Asia. In 2009, Nilekani was made the chairperson of the Unique Identification Authority Of India, by Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh. His wife is Rohini Nilekani and they have two children, Janhavi and Nihar.