Professor Muralidharan has distilled years of thinking and research about the steps that can be taken to improve the live's of India's people into his book in a way that is accessible, fast-paced, information rich and truly inspiring.
His work first maps the problem and was really useful for me to gain context on the structure of the Indian state, it's intrinsic problems with service delivery and the motivations of the stakeholders who a play a vital part in the system. His book takes a step beyond his academic work and lays out his in-depth understanding of the system that comes from his fieldwork and many hours spent interacting with IAS officers, NGOs and the people who actually rely on India's public service delivery.
He then goes on to lay out potential solutions that are implementable, cost-effective and can be done at the state level. His vision of a state-led process towards development is exciting because it means solutions can be implemented, tested and evaluated at a smaller scale and on a faster/more feasible timeline before deciding whether to roll out over a country of India's size and diversity.
As a student, and someone who is looking to understand India's public service delivery better and learning to form connections between things I observe/read about and potential research ideas this book is a really helpful way to learn not only what might work in fixing the issue identified, but also how to think about what intervention might work and then see a really nice way of it being tested.
Most of all it is written in a truly accessible way, without unnecessary jargon or complication - "as simple as possible but no simpler". I really enjoyed the way it is written - it is quick and concise within each chapter but as a whole provides a really comprehensive view of the Indian state, while not leaving out little snippets from Prof. Muralidharan's experiences in the field or things practitioners have mentioned to him. I really enjoyed this book and I'll come back to it often to better absorb it - it doesn't have to be read in a linear fashion and after the introduction chapter, different chapters can be dipped into based on readers' interest. It is a book that uses multiple lenses to looks at the areas in which the Indian state can do better for its people and is one that can be treated very much like a textbook for those serious about getting to know the economics and political economy of development in India.
It really comes across how passionate and relentlessly optimistic he is about improving service delivery in India and this is the thing that I think gets talked about less but will have a huge impact. This book inspires - even though it notes that we have a long way to go, it reminds the reader constantly that there are many ways to take steps forward and that these steps are doable in the immediate future. This is really important - there tends to be a lot of disgruntlement in popular discourse about the state of affairs in India and not enough real optimism - I will come back to this book to remind myself that an India that serves it's citizens drastically better than it does today is within reaching distance. I think I heard this first in one of his Seen and the Unseen podcast episodes where he says that when you think about a problem like India's development you have to have 'pessimism of the intellect but optimism of the spirit', and this book puts that idea into practice. It acknowledges each problem in all its dimensions but then makes sure to break it down bit by bit and provide solutions that are backed by evidence, that there is real hope of implementing. This is a fantastic contribution and definitely worth reading.
Highly recommend! Thank you for the book!
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
Frequently bought together
This item: Accelerating India's Development: A State-Led Roadmap for Effective Governance
$40.00
Only 10 left in stock - order soon.
+
$23.99
Get it as soon as Sunday, Aug 11
In Stock
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
Customers who bought this item also bought
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Top reviews from other countries
Elakiya Ananthakrishnan
Fantastic and informative! Highly recommend!!
Reviewed in India on May 25, 2024Sankarram Subbiah
Must read for Politicians, Law makers and Administrative Leaders
Reviewed in India on June 11, 2024Manish
Comprehensive and Easy to Read to Guide to Governance Transformation for India
Reviewed in India on May 4, 2024Ritesh
Essential read to understand our issues and spot game changers!
Reviewed in India on April 14, 2024
Ritesh
Reviewed in India on April 14, 2024
Images in this review
