A collection of books which encapsulate India’s liberalisation journey
GN Bureau | July 21, 2016
As the country completes 25 years of economic reforms, we recommend following books that give a glimpse of India’s journey after the historic economic reforms in 1991.
 Half-Lion: How PV Narasimha Rao Transformed IndiaBy Vinay Sitapati Penguin, 2016 |
 Confessions of a Swadeshi Reformer: My Years as Finance MinisterBy Yashwant Sinha Penguin, 2007 |
 A View from the Outside: Why Good Economics Works for Everyone By P Chidambaram Penguin, 2008 |
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 An Economist in the Real World: The Art of Policymaking in India By Kaushik Basu Viking, 2015 |
 The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh By Sanjaya Baru Penguin, 2014 |
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 The Turn of the Tortoise: The Challenge and Promise of India’s FutureBy TN Ninan Penguin, 2015 |
 The Intelligent Person’s Guide to LiberalizationBy Amit Bhaduri and Deepak Nayyar Penguin, 1996 |
 Restart: The Last Chance for the Indian Economy By Mihir Sharma Random House, 2015 |
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 India: The Emerging Giant By Arvind Panagariya Oxford University Press, 2011 |
 India Unbound: from Independence to the Global Information age By Gurcharan Das Penguin, 2000/2015 |
 Rebooting India: Realizing a Billion AspirationsBy Nandan Nilekani and Viral Shah Penguin, 2015 |
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 ImplosionBy John Elliott Harper India, 2014 |
 India: The Road AheadBy Mark Tully Rider, 2012 |
 India’s Emerging Economy: Performance and Prospects in the 1990s and BeyondEdited by Kaushik Basu Oxford University Press, 2005 |
 India’s Economic Reforms and Development: Essays for Manmohan SinghEdited by Isher Judge Ahluwalia and IMD Little Oxford University Press, 2012 (2e) |
 India After Gandhi: The History of the World’s Largest DemocracyBy Ramachandra Guha Picador India, 2008 |
 India: A Million Mutinies NowBy VS Naipaul Picador, 1990 |
 The Face You Were Afraid to See: Essays on the Indian EconomyBy Amit Bhaduri Penguin, 2009 |
 Everybody Loves a Good DroughtBy P Sainath Penguin, 2000 |
Looking Away: Inequality, Prejudice and Indifference in New India By Harsh Mander Speaking Tiger, 2015 |
Apart from our own selection of titles, we invited economists and journalists to name a few of the best books on economic reforms. Here are their recommendations:
 Jean Dreze EconomistThe Economy of India: Global Challenge for the Century By Jean-Philippe Boillot Gyan Publishing House, 2008 Awakening Giants, Feet of Clay: Assessing the Economic Rise of China and India By Pranab Bardhan Princeton University Press, 2012 Economic reforms and Growth in India Edited by Pulapre Balakrishnan Orient BlackSwan, 2011 |
 Pulapre Balakrishnan EconomistAn Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions By Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen Penguin, 2013 Why Growth Matters: How Economic Growth in India Reduced Poverty and the Lessons for Other Developing Countries By Arvind Panagariya and Jagdish Bhagwati Harper Collins, 2014 Economic Reforms and Growth in India Edited by Pulpare Balkrishnan Orient BlackSwan, 2011 |
 Reetika Khera EconomistIndia: Development and Participation By Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen Oxford University Press, 2002 (2e) An Uncertain Glory, India and its Contradictions By Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen Penguin, 2013 |
 Shankkar Aiyar Economic JournalistAccidental India By Shankkar Aiyar Aleph Book Company, 2012 India’s Political Economy 1947-2004 By Francine R Frankel Oxford University Press, 2005 (2e) India: Macroeconomics and Political Economy, 1964-1991 By Vijay Joshi and IMD Little World Bank Publications, 1994 |
 Vinay Sitapati Commentator, biographer of PV Narasimha RaoTo the Brink and Back: India’s 1991 Story By Jairam Ramesh Rupa Publications India, 2015 Why Growth Matters: How Economic Growth in India Reduced Poverty and the Lessons for Other Developing Countries By Arvind Panagariya and Jagdish Bhagwati Harper Collins, 2014 Democratic Politics and Economic Reform in India By Rob Jenkins Cambridge University Press, 2000 |
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