Imagining India: The Idea of a Renewed Nation Hardcover - 2009

by Nandan Nilekani

A visionary look at the evolution and future of India by a preeminentbusiness leader

India's recent economic boom similar in scope tothat of the United States during the early 1990s or Europe'sduring the 1970s has triggered tremendous social, political,and cultural change. The result is a country that, while managingincredible economic growth, has also begun to fully inhabitits role on the world political stage. In this far-ranging look atthe central ideas that have shaped this young nation, Infosyscofounder Nandan Nilekani offers a definitive and originalinterpretation of the country's past, present, and future.

India's future rests on more than simply economicgrowth; it also depends on reform and innovation in all sectorsof public life. Imagining India traces the efforts of thecountry's past and present leaders as they work to developnew frameworks that suit India's specific characteristics andchallenges. Imagining India charts the ideas that are crucial toIndia's current infrastructure revolution and quest for universalliteracy, urbanization, and unification; maps the ideologicalbattlegrounds of caste, higher education, and labor reform;and argues that only a safety net of ideas from social securityto public health to the environment can transcend politicalagendas and safeguard India's economic future.

As a cofounder of Infosys, a global leader in informationtechnology, Nandan Nilekani has actively participatedin the company's rise in the last fifteen years. In ImaginingIndia, he uses the global experience and understanding he hasgained at Infosys as a springboard from which to discuss thefuture of India and its role as a global citizen and emergingeconomic giant.

A fascinating window into the future of India,Imagining India engages with the central ideas and challengesthat face the country from within and as a part of the globaleconomy and charts a new way forward for a nation that hasproved itself to be young, impatient, and vitally awake.