Political biography of Laloo Prasad Yadav, b. 1948, minister of Indian Railways and former chief minister of Bihar.

Growth miracles typically have been studied at the country level. In The Making of Miracles in Indian States, internationally-renowned economists Arvind Panagariya and M. Govinda Rao bring together a team of six leading scholars to break from that tradition and study three growth miracles in India at the level of the state: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Gujarat. These are three large and diverse states in India: Gujarat has the third-highest per-capita income among the largest eighteen states, Bihar is the poorest, and Andhra Pradesh falls in the middle. Despite vast differences among the states, all three have grown at rates exceeding 8% for an entire decade in the twenty-first century. Each section of this three-part book offers a historical perspective on the state's development and the specific factors that improved its economic fortunes. The three case studies are backed by extensive quantitative documentation. They demonstrate the critical role that leadership, translated into improved policies and implementation, plays in stimulating growth and development. The Making of Miracles in Indian States is essential reading for students and scholars alike, as well as policy makers, NGO workers, and employees of international institutions.

The economy of India is growing at a rate of 8 percent per year, and its exports of goods and services have more than doubled in the past three years. Considering these trends, economists, scholars, and political leaders across the globe are beginning to wonder whether India's growth can be sustained. The contributors to this volume analyze the forces behind India's emerging role as a world economic player and identify the hidden weaknesses that, if unaddressed, may slow the country's growth. Chapters suggest how to transform India's primarily rural population into a gainfully employed modern sector; methods to achieve fiscal sustainability and consolidation; infrastructure bottlenecks, especially in terms of finite energy resources; and, given the country's complex electoral government and global political position, the obstacles toward effecting policy reform. Sustaining India's Growth Miracle is a valuable resource for practitioners, policymakers, students, and scholars. It tackles issues from political, economic, and academic perspectives, and the concluding chapter, a talk given by the commerce and industry minister of India, discusses the country's position as a world power, outlining several reasons for its success and exploring the difficulties that lie ahead.

This book is written to give an overall idea of dynastic politics in India, keeping in mind that a citizen of India should know more about the politicians who are in the government and form policies and so on to take the country in the proper direction. Even if there are two related members, it is considered as dynasty and is included in this book. Wherever possible, family trees, as well as the assets of our politicians, are shown. It was natural to start with the Nehru Gandhi family, being one of the largest and longest-ruling families at the helm of all affairs. Then state wise, the families are chosen and the account is presented. As the content is extensive, the book is published in two volumes. States are chosen alphabetically. So even if Nehru Gandhi family is in Volume 1, Tamilnadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh are in Volume 2. Early rulers in Indian history used to hand over the throne to their sons and then to the next generations for generations till some significant event upset the process, mostly conspiracies by persons like very close aides of the king or a revolt. Similar lines were followed even during our democracy, passing on the rule to the next generation, which gave rise to dynastic rule. Indian politics has witnessed a large spectrum of politicians from various fields. Initially, it consisted mainly of leaders from the field of law. Now, we find that we have eminent personalities from sports fields, actors, actresses, superstars from the silver screen. The literary field is no exception; we have writers, poets, and so on. Economists find a special place in the political arena. Politics does not shun even criminals or a few dacoits who then turned to politics after surrendering. Businessmen, kings or princes from princely states, as the British decided to call them, are also found here. We have learned people in politics as also the illiterate people (angutha chhaap) who learned to sign only after assuming the office on being elected. People are interested in knowing the assets of politicians. This point is covered by using the asset declaration given by the politicians at the time of the election.

Thy Life’s a Miracle RJ The Harvester of Opportunities Rakesh Jain, aka RJ, is a successful self-made entrepreneur from Lucknow who dabbled in many business ideas but didn’t blink whenever he hit a roadblock or even when he hit rock bottom. An intuitive and brave-hearted risk-taker, he was helped along by people in seemingly miraculous ways and finally set up the PRAG Group of Companies making quality engineering products for the Indian Railways. Over time, he ended up being a brilliant Relationship Jockey (RJ) who conquered great heights in the face of adversities. Armed with a smile, a business plan and shoals of positive energy he tempted fate with childlike innocence only to be showered with miracles. The chapters throw up mind-boggling questions like: Do miracles really happen? If they do, why do they happen to a man deeply involved in the world of business and enterprise? Does a human being need to be the perfect receptacle for miracles to play out in daily life? Rakesh Jain’s thrilling and dramatic life story throws up philosophical possibilities as to what construes a miracle? Can RJ’s miracles be replicated by young entrepreneurs trying to make a mark with their startups? Rakesh’s own journey has been nothing short of miraculous. When he unexpectedly lost a secure job he set up a small entrepreneurial enterprise in Lucknow and expanded it to Mumbai. Life’s unexpected twists and turns are reflected in this absorbing book by Rakesh, and its ups and downs that occur to all of us, but Rakesh‘s persona and temperament have turned seemingly unfavourable situations into agreeable and pleasant outcomes! Rakesh’s fascinating story which I have enjoyed reading and which I hope you will find inspiring. I raise a toast to his courage and indomitable will and wish him all success in his life! ~ Shatrughan Sinha A man must be ready to harness the good and gratifying from the godsend thrown at him by fate. And such a man is Rakesh, who goes beyond mere rejoicing in the fruits of simple serendipity to a belief that harvesting of opportunities is our true karma. ~ Sudhanshu Mani

A unique collection of thoughts, ideas, views and vision of some of the brightest brains and most respected individuals—from senior cabinet ministers to role model captains of industry; from internationally acclaimed economists to diplomats par excellence and think-tank honchos; from IT innovators to provocative journalists—all jostle together in this volume sharing glimpses of India of their dreams. Sheer diversity of subjects, strength of arguments, force of articulation and the breadth of vision is sure to provoke the reader to think about India… Contributors / Discussants Mani Shankar Aiyar, M.J. Akbar, Mythili Bhusnurmath, Marshall Bouton, P. Chidambaram, Sadia Dehlvi, Meghnad Desai, Sheila Dikshit, N. Gopalaswami, Dipak C. Jain, Meira Kumar, Surendra Kumar, Wangari Muta Maathai, Sonal Mansingh, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Pranab Mukherjee, Satish Nambiar, Saeed Naqvi, Shivraj Patil, Sam Pitroda, Lalu Prasad, Azim Premji, Varun Sahni, Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Shashi Tharoor, J.S. Verma

The Indian Railways is one of the world's largest state-owned enterprises with around 1.4 million employees, over 63,000 kilometres of network, running around 13,000 trains each day. Bankruptcy to Billions reveals for the first time how the Indian Railways transformed from near bankruptcy to post US$ 6 billion (Rs 25,000 crore) annual cash surplus in 2008. This book is a case study of how the Indian Railways brought a revolutionary change in its infrastructure to script its own success story. Defining and evaluating the conventional policy approach to reform large state-owned enterprises, this book comprehensively analyses Railways' innovative modus operandi that changed its status from a "profit averse" to a "profit oriented" organization. Providing valuable insights into other state-owned enterprises, Bankruptcy to Billions unveils the real story of the transformation of the Indian Railways.