Make in India, Digital India, Start-up India; Stand up India, Smart cities, Swachh Bharat...there is a new force harnessing the nation’s aspirations, a new energy accelerating the country’s potential. No wonder that India has become the fastest growing economy when the world is slowing down. It is bound to be transformed beyond recognition if it continues growing at a similar and slightly higher rate for the next ten years.

Yet the challenges are formidable: India is home to the world’s largest number of poor and illiterate people; millions still lack basic necessities like shelter, sanitation, drinking water, education and healthcare. Our infrastructure still creaks, bureaucratic delays persist, far-reaching economic reforms get stalled in the Parliament and our biggest strength that could easily turn into a big challenge―our youth―brimming with hope and holding a long wish list anxiously await jobs. These and the country’s fragmented polity, delicate social fabric and prevailing gender insensitivity are not issues that can be tackled in days, weeks or months.

Some of the brightest and most influential minds with a combined contribution of more than a thousand years across important areas like science and technology, agriculture, business, politics, international relations, law, education, journalism and art take a hard and dispassionate look at the India of today. While some have flagged education, skilling of youth and innovative approaches in administration, others feel that without a thorough cleansing of corruption and creation of a just and inclusive society embracing timeless values, India can’t possibly leapfrog.

A must-read for policymakers, scholars and anybody interested in the future of this great nation, the book challenges notions, invigorates reflections, spurs debates and seeds new ideas to leapfrog India.

About the Author
Surendra Kumar was India’s Ambassador to Mozambique during the Civil War and to Libya during Col Qaddafi’s regime under UN/US sanctions. He also served as High Commissioner to Kenya and Permanent Representative to UNEP and UN-HABITAT. He retired as the Dean, Foreign Service Institute/Secretary MEA in 2008. He has six books to his credit including India and the World (edited 2015) and frequently writes about political, social and international developments and comments on television.