India a tale of private success and public failure: Gurcharan

"India grows at night" published by Penguin Books explores the cause of hardships that effect India after twenty years of liberalization and suggests what ordinary citizens can do to make things better.

"India has always been a strong society but weak state. Hence the title 'India grows at night' while the full expression is 'India grows at night...When the government sleeps" says Gurucharan who was the former CEO of CEO of Proctor & Gamble India.

The book was launced here late last evening.

Das says he believes that when despite being governed by a weak and ineffective state India has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies, it is time for India to grow during the day as well.

"To deal with the policy paralysis prevailing in the country we need a strong liberal state. India will also be able to grow during the day if public policy is supported by private enterprise" he says.

To explain the model of 'liberal state', Das has cited the examples of growth stories of two cities in Delhi NCR- Faridabad and Gurgaon which he believes triggered the title and his thought process for the book.

"In early 80s experts had estimated Faridabad to be symbol of India' success and hence spent capital and time in its growth. To every body's surprise Gurgaon proved to symbol of rising India three decades later while Faridabad continues to be an impoverished city" says Das.

According to Das, Gurgaon's disadvantage of having no municipal government turned out to be its advantage as people there didn't have to face any interference in their process of development.

Chapters of the book titled 'Middle-class Dignity' and 'Politics of Aspiration' talk about the prevalent situation of politics and governance in the country. MORE