The biggest book of the year on the Indian economy and the way forward

HarperCollins

presents

UNSHACKLING INDIA
Hard Truths and Clear Choices for Economic Revival

by Ajay Chhibber and Salman Anees Soz

The biggest book of the year on the Indian economy
and the way forward

HB | Non-fiction | 464 pp | Rs 699

‘A vision of the economy that India deserves.’
RAGHURAM RAJAN

‘Big picture, colourfully detailed, hugely ambitious.’
RUCHIR SHARMA

A wide-ranging and thorough overview of the reforms needed for the Indian economy with a definitive roadmap to make India a genuinely developed economy by 2047

Releasing 29 November 2021
Order Now: bit.ly/UnshacklingIndia

Author Ajay Chhibber says, “In Unshackling India, we lay bare the hard truths about India’s economic trajectory and provide a bold and imaginative set of solutions, especially on changing the role of the state, fixing its ailing financial system and rationalising its outdated laws, if India must achieve common prosperity in a sustainable manner, and reach its destiny by 2047.”

Author Salman Anees Soz says, “In Unshackling India, we lay out the key drivers of India’s economic performance, highlight the likely impacts of challenges like climate change, share lessons of experience in economic development from around the world, and propose ambitious yet workable ideas to put India firmly on the path to shared economic prosperity.”

Swati Chopra, Executive Editor, HarperCollins India, says, “It is rare to have a book on the Indian economy with as immense a range, depth and vision as Unshackling India. In it, Ajay Chhibber and Salman Anees Soz bring their combined, formidable expertise to bear on not just what is wrong with the country’s economy, but why it is so, and suggest a roadmap to how we can fix it. Essential reading for anyone who worries about India and cares about genuine, inclusive development.”

ABOUT THE BOOK

As India enters its seventy-fifth year of independence, conventional policy is unlikely to combat the breadth of its economic challenges. Across a range of areas—human capital, technology, agriculture, finance, trade, public-service delivery and more—new ideas must now be on the table. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only cost India many lives and livelihoods, it has also exposed major structural weaknesses in the economy.

A huge farm and jobs crisis, rising and massive inequalities, tepid investment growth and chronic banking-sector challenges have plagued the economy for many years. The pandemic has exacerbated these challenges. It has also exposed the limitations of the Indian state, which tries to control too much—and ends up stifling the economy and the inherent energies of its young population. Climate change is no longer a distant threat, while disruptive technology has huge implications for India’s demographic dividend. In addition, the dangerous lurch towards majoritarianism will cast its shadow on India’s pursuit of prosperity for all.

Unshackling India examines the question: Can India use the next twenty-five years, when it will reach the hundredth year of independence, to not only restructure its economy but rejuvenate its democratic energy and unshackle its potential and become a genuinely developed economy by 2047? This book argues that India can foster a prosperous and inclusive economy if it sets its mind to it, acknowledges the hard truths and lays out the clear choices and new ideas India must adopt towards that end.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

AJAY CHHIBBER is Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Institute for International Economic Policy, George Washington University and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. He was the first Director General, Independent Evaluation Office, India, and Distinguished Visiting Professor at the NIPFP. He served as Assistant Secretary General, UN, and Assistant Administrator, UNDP. At the World Bank he served as Country Director in Turkey and Vietnam, and Director of the 1997 World Development Report. He has a PhD from Stanford University, an MA from the Delhi School of Economics and was awarded the David Rajaram Prize for best all-rounder at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University.

SALMAN ANEES SOZ is an economic development consultant, author and commentator. He has extensive international experience across a range of economic development issues. Formerly with the World Bank, he now serves as a consultant to international institutions. He is a recipient of the World Bank President’s Award for Excellence. His commentary appears in a variety of media outlets and he speaks regularly on politics, economics, and international affairs. He has an MBA from Yale University, an MA in Economics from Northeastern University, and a BA (Hons) in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, where he was the President of the Students’ Union Society.

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK

‘Ajay Chhibber and Salman Anees Soz have written a truly wonderful book on India’s current economic predicament and the way forward to achieving shared prosperity by 2047. It’s a big book, but every page is lucidly written and worth reading. Packed with a wealth of information and clear, persuasive analysis backed by thorough research, this book is a must read for anyone interested in the future that India deserves, be they scholars, policymakers, students or thinking citizens.’

— Shankar Acharya
former Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India, author of An Economist at Home and Abroad

‘If you want to understand why India’s economy, lauded only a decade ago as one of the most dynamic in the world, is now ailing, and what it will take to fix it, Unshackling India is the book to read. In clear and direct language, without resorting to economic jargon, Ajay Chhibber and Salman Anees Soz present a sweeping agenda of reforms to reinvigorate growth and share the benefits more equitably—in their words to make the country both more prosperous and happier.’

— Liaquat Ahamed
Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Lords of Finance: Bankers Who Broke the World

‘Ajay Chhibber and Salman Soz make an urgent and pressing case for India’s policymakers to fully and frontally confront long ignored realities about the Indian economy—its fragility, structural inequality, low levels of state capacity which have been made especially visible in the ravages of COVID-19. In this rigorously argued yet accessible book the authors place a much-needed spotlight on the challenge and offer important and often provocative policy prescriptions. Engaging with these provocations is crucial if India is to find her way back to sustainable growth. A must read for all those committed to the idea of a growing, resilient India and especially for those in the corridors of policymaking.’

— Yamini Aiyar
President, Center for Policy Research

‘In Unshackling India, economists Ajay Chhibber and Salman Soz provide a highly readable, wide-ranging, and thorough overview of the reforms needed for the Indian economy to reach its full potential and deliver greater prosperity for its 1.4 billion citizens. Ranging from second generation reforms, to concerns about gender, climate, health, education, state capacity and other challenges, Chhibber and Soz offer practical steps that can be taken now to spur growth and more inclusive development. They notably highlight the urgency of the present moment, in the wake of COVID-19, against a worsening global climate, and at a time when a manufacturing-led pathway to prosperity can no longer be taken for granted. A must-read for all who care about India’s future.’

— Alyssa Ayres
Dean, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University

‘This book is outstanding because it does not just present a vision of a happier, more inclusive and prosperous society by the hundredth anniversary of independence but also a very specific roadmap to attain it. Besides relying on a wide range of studies and data sources it also enriches the discussion with very relevant international comparisons. An old timer like me learnt a lot from it and one hopes that it will be read by all who influence India’s development policy.’

— Nitin Desai
former Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations

‘The Chibber-Soz book illuminates the pathway that our country needs to take for realizing the tryst in the centennial year 2047. Jawaharlal Nehru, our first prime minister, eloquently evoked it on the dawn of our independence and this wonderful book persuasively shows: Yes, we can! In the various chapters, authors highlight the needed structural reforms and social policy measures in the shadow of the unfolding global technological trends. Perhaps this is also one the first well-researched books that bring out the new possibilities of high quality growth by successfully tackling the climate change challenges. I particularly applaud their emphasis on the urgency of mobilizing the latent economic growth potential of our women with the needed policy measures for their empowerment. This is a must-read for the policymakers as well as for all those who deeply care about our country.’

— Vijay Kelkar
Chairman, 13th Finance Commission and former Finance Secretary

‘Can India have the largest economy in the world? Yes, it can! Yet, success is never easy. Ajay Chhibber and Salman Soz have done India a huge service by documenting comprehensively the reforms—both painful and painless—India should undertake. India should set aside its partisan divides and heed their wise advice. India should not rely only on its US$2.7 trillion market when a global market of US$80 trillion beckons. If overseas Indians can compete successfully in global markets, so can India. And if India bravely jumps into global markets, India’s economy could explode. Seize the moment.’

— Kishore Mahbubani
Founding Dean, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, author of Has China Won?

‘In Unshackling India, Chhibber and Soz, draw on their experiences across the world and their intimate knowledge of India to paint a vision of the economy that India deserves. This is an extremely readable primer to the key challenges that the Indian economy will face in the post-pandemic world, and the bold policy reforms it needs to address them. It will be an important contribution to the political momentum for change.’

— Raghuram Rajan
Professor, University of Chicago Booth School

‘Big picture, colourfully detailed, hugely ambitious. Ajay Chhibber and Salman Anees Soz offer a bold blueprint for how India could become a much higher income nation in twenty-five years.’

— Ruchir Sharma
global investor and author of Rise and Fall of Nations and Break-out Nations

 

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For reviews, excerpts, interviews and more information, please contact Shivendra Singh at
shivendra.singh@harpercollins.co.in