An eye-opening portrait of global capitalism spanning 150 years, told through the history of the Tata corporation. Nearly a century old, the grand façade of Bombay House is hard to miss in the historic business district of Mumbai. This is the iconic global headquarters of the Tata Group, a multinational corporation that produces everything from salt to software. After getting their start in the cotton and opium trades, the Tatas, a Parsi family from Navsari, Gujarat, ascended to commanding heights in the Indian economy by the time of independence in 1947. Over the course of its 150-year history Tata spun textiles, forged steel, generated hydroelectric power, and took to the skies. It also faced challenges from restive workers fighting for their rights and political leaders who sought to curb its power. In this sweeping history, Mircea Raianu tracks the fortunes of a family-run business that was born during the high noon of the British Empire and went on to capture the world’s attention with the headline-making acquisition of luxury car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover. The growth of Tata was a complex process shaped by world historical forces: the eclipse of imperial free trade, the intertwined rise of nationalism and the developmental state, and finally the return of globalization and market liberalization. Today Tata is the leading light of one of the world’s major economies, selling steel, chemicals, food, financial services, and nearly everything else, while operating philanthropic institutions that channel expert knowledge in fields such as engineering and medicine. Based on painstaking research in the company’s archive, Tata elucidates how a titan of industry was created and what lessons its story may hold for the future of global capitalism.

The story of Indian business remains incomplete without the Bombay Plan The Tryst with Prosperity is the story of the Bombay Plan which was initiated in 1944. Eight remarkable individuals from the world of industry, like J.R.D. Tata, Lala Shri Ram and G.D. Birla, came together and drafted this plan. The Bombay Plan, an economic blueprint, promised to double India's per capita income in fifteen years; envisaged a 130 per cent rise in agriculture output; a 500 per cent increase in manufacturing; and a minimum standard of living for every individual. This plan held out the promise of partnership between the Indian state and private enterprise. Yet, ironically, a decade later, these captains of industry fell out with the Nehruvian establishment. Nonetheless, the indelible imprint of the Bombay Plan was manifest in the national Five Year Plans and in the economic trajectory of India. Seventy-five years later, the Bombay Plan's legacy continues to be unmistakable in the economic life of contemporary India. Rivetingly told, business historian Medha M. Kudaisya, narrates an important chapter from the story of Indian business.

This book is one of the first ethnographic studies to examine the complexities of lifestyles of the the upwardly mobile middle classes in India in the new millennium. It reveals an original theory on cosmopolitan Indianness and urbanisation in the age of globalisation.

Policy discourse in India tends to be dominated by assertions unsupported by facts, with the media indulging one and all without proper scrutiny. Often, the result is the creation and perpetuation of myths of all kinds. Thus, many believe today that poverty, illiteracy and ill-health afflict India because its leadership ignored them in favour of growth for its own sake; that the economic reforms that focused on growth have failed to help the poor, especially the socially disadvantaged; that any gains claimed in poverty alleviation derive from the use of progressively lower poverty lines; and that even if gains have been made, with one in two children suffering from malnutrition, reforms have done precious little to improve health outcomes. In this definitive book on economic reforms in India since Independence, Bhagwati and Panagariya decisively demolish these and other myths, which critics use as weapons to wound and maim the reforms. Using systematic data and analysis, they forcefully show that once the debris of critiques of India's reforms is cleared, it becomes evident that intensification of reforms - that allows sustained rapid growth - is the only way to lift millions out of poverty, illiteracy and ill-health. They argue that only growth can provide sufficient revenues for the provision of education and good health for the masses.

The Coming Prosperity disarms the current narratives of fear and brings to light the vast new opportunities in the expanding global economy.

The Great India Story by a respected international journalistSince independence in 1947, India has muddled through, turning confusion and adversity into varying degrees of success. From his experience and perspective as both a business and political correspondent, John Elliott examines how this came to be. At a time when there is a widespread clamour for change and for a new form of politics, he looks at how corruption has eaten into all aspects of Indian life and questions the decades of rule by the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, and suggests democracy provides a smokescreen for much that is wrong. He explores the impact of liberalization, traces the build-up of social unrest over corruption, women's rights, and the exploitation of land and the poor. He also reflects on the limitations of a hesitant foreign policy and looks in detail at why India's defence forces are so depleted.At the heart of the problem, he argues, is the 'quick fix' attitude known as 'jugaad' and the laissez faire acceptance of 'chalta hai' that together have eaten into the social and political fabric and heavily influence what India is, and is not, today. He uncovers a secrets 'M document' that mapped out the 1991 reforms, and reveals how was an unwitting spectator at a Pakistan briefing meeting for the 1991 Kargil war.Incisive and ambitious in its attempt to gather together the many strands that make up a controversial India narrative, Implosion is a timely contribution to the debate on nationhood,development, the exercise of power, people's rights and the changing demographics of a country facing a Tryst with Reality.

This open access book consists of essays written by Kishore Mahbubani to explore the challenges and dilemmas faced by the West and Asia in an increasingly interdependent world village and intensifying geopolitical competition. The contents cover four parts: Part One The End of the Era of Western Domination. The major strategic error that the West is now making is to refuse to accept this reality. The West needs to learn how to act strategically in a world where they are no longer the number 1. Part Two The Return of Asia. From the years 1 to 1820, the largest economies in the world were Asian. After 1820 and the rise of the West, however, great Asian civilizations like China and India were dominated and humiliated. The twenty-first century will see the return of Asia to the center of the world stage. Part Three The Peaceful Rise of China. The shift in the balance of power to the East has been most pronounced in the rise of China. While this rise has been peaceful, many in the West have responded with considerable concern over the influence China will have on the world order. Part Four Globalization, Multilateralism and Cooperation. Many of the world's pressing issues, such as COVID-19 and climate change, are global issues and will require global cooperation to deal with. In short, human beings now live in a global village. States must work with each other, and we need a world order that enables and facilitates cooperation in our global village.

A Plan of Economic Development for India', aka the Bombay Plan, written in two parts and published in 1944 and 1945, generated widespread interest in India and abroad at the time of its publication. Its authors were none other than J.R.D Tata, G.D Birla, Purushottamdas Thakurdas, Kasturbhai Lalbhai, Ardeshir Dala, Lala Sri Ram, John Mathai and A.D

The forests of India are not only home to a wide variety of animals and birds, but they also teem with committed conservationists, naturalists and nature lovers. And after having spent many years with wildlife, these men and women have fascinating stories to tell. Cliff Rice is one such animal-explorer. He lived for two years in the mountains of Kerala, befriending the Nilgiri tahr, an endangered species of mountain goat, with fistfuls of salt. Ralph Morris, one of the first British coffee planters in the Biligirirangan Hills, went on a 'tiger beat' and chased a pair of tigers towards his daughter Monica , who was given little pebbles to throw at them if defence became necessary. Sally Walker spent years with tiger cubs in zoos, and proved that kindness is more effective than fierce authority; Rom Whitaker set off on an international hunt for giant crocodiles, which took him from Orissa to Egypt; and Manish Chandi tells a fascinating tale about Meroe, the rumbling Nicobar island, where he studied sea turtles and other wildlife.