Written by an eminent economist, Bimal Jalan, Emerging India: Economics, Politics and Reforms talks about India's growth from the post reform 1991 era to the modern days and the various challenges plaguing various arms of the government. In this book, Jalan praises the democratic setup that runs this complex and diverse country. The book is divided into four different parts and each part is devoted to a different section.
The first part of the book speaks about the multiple authorities governing a ministry. He speaks about the growth of regional parties and the impact it has had on policy formulation. Jalan says that the coalition era has sparked off a trend where parties generally don't think too far ahead into the future and plan well. In the second section, Jalan talks about the need to further open up the economy and invest in better health care. He also talks about the role that he expects science and technology to play in shaping the lives of the citizens. The third section is devoted to banking. The author talks about the Asian crisis and how India managed to cope with the crisis and what role the Reserve Bank of India played in helping India tide over the crisis. He stresses on the need for ethics in the banking sector if the country is to do well in the long run. Lastly, he goes through various economic policies and reforms that have shaped the Indian economy, right from the seventies to the new millennium.
Bimal Jalan produces a detailed account of the Indian economy and the way it has functioned and the various obstacles in front of it. Emerging India: Economics, Politics and Reforms was first published in 2013 by Penguin India and is available in paperback.
