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The New Bihar
Well-known economists and policy makers look at the Bihar model of development and discuss the challenges ahead During the 1990s, Bihar's development failed to benefit from the acceleration in India's economic growth, principally because of a steep decline in the already low standards of governance. this changed dramatically after November 2005, when The Nitish Kumar government came to power. Within a short time, major initiatives were launched in improving governance, infrastructure, education, especially primary and for girl children, health and agriculture. The last six years have shown that rapid economic development is possible in Bihar. To maintain the momentum of growth, the recent improvements in governance have to be consolidated and strengthened. Eminent economists like Amartya Sen, Kaushik Basu, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Meghnad Desai, Shankar Acharya and Arvind Virmani analyse the remarkable turnaround witnessed by Bihar. Experts Tarun Das, Deepak Parekh, Lord Billimoria, K.V. Kamath and Isher Judge Ahluwalia speak of the opportunities and challenges ahead. This is a must read for anyone interested in governance and development.
582 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2013
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About the author
N.K. Singh
71 books3 followersN.K. Singh is a prominent Indian economist, academician, and policymaker. He is currently Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission, a body established under the Indian Constitution to oversee revenue sharing and other federal fiscal policy matters. Prior to this position, he presided as Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Review Committee (FRBM), responsible for setting targets for the government to reduce fiscal deficits. He also served as a member of the Upper House of the Parliament, the Rajya Sabha, from 2008 to 2014, during which time he contributed to several prominent Parliamentary Standing Committees including the Public Accounts Committee, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Human Resource Development.
Singh had a long and distinguished career as a member of the Indian Administrative Services before his entry into politics and fiscal policy leadership. He served as Expenditure Secretary, responsible for overseeing the public financial management system in the Central Government and matters connected with state finances; Revenue Secretary, responsible for exercising control in respect of matters relating to all the Direct and Indirect Union Taxes and putting together ‘dream budget’, Secretary to the Prime Minister of India, among other senior leadership roles. As a member of the erstwhile Planning Commission, he was heading the Expert Committee on Power Sector Reforms, introduction of renewable form of energy as well as the important committee on Foreign Direct Investment to India. The responses to these recommendations opened India substantially for larger foreign equity flows. He was part of the core group of advisors and strategists during India’s economic reforms of 1991. He was principal interlocutor for negotiations with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for structural adjustments, loans and Balance of Payment support instrumentalities.
Singh brings a wealth of national and international experience to the table, having interacted closely with multilateral organizations such as the World Bank, IMF, ADB, and OECD. His early work as First Minister, Economic and Commercial, Indian Embassy, Japan (1981–85) and subsequent contributions to the international economic order were recognized by the Emperor of Japan with the award of the “Order of the Rising Sun - Gold and Silver" in 2016. The Japanese order is the second-highest civilian award accorded to people with distinguished achievements in the field of international relations, promotion of Japanese culture, development in welfare or preservation of the environment. He was the only Indian in the list of recipients of 2016 Spring Imperial Decorations.
On the academic front, he is a Member of the Governing Board of the Nalanda University and Chairperson of its Endowments Committee. Mr. Singh has been a recurring eminent guest lecturer at prestigious academic institutions and Universities like Columbia, Yale, Stanford and the London School of Economics.
Mr Singh is also a published author with several prominent books to his name. "Politics of Change", an insight into India's politics and economy, provides incisive insights into the realities of coalition politics and international fault lines. "Not by Reason Alone," comments on the past and present of the politics of change and “The New Bihar: Rekindling Governance and Development", is a collection of perceptive essays on the Bihar model of development. He has been a reputed columnist in leading Indian newspapers including the likes of Hindustan Times, Hindustan, The Indian Express, The Hindu, and Mint.
Singh had a long and distinguished career as a member of the Indian Administrative Services before his entry into politics and fiscal policy leadership. He served as Expenditure Secretary, responsible for overseeing the public financial management system in the Central Government and matters connected with state finances; Revenue Secretary, responsible for exercising control in respect of matters relating to all the Direct and Indirect Union Taxes and putting together ‘dream budget’, Secretary to the Prime Minister of India, among other senior leadership roles. As a member of the erstwhile Planning Commission, he was heading the Expert Committee on Power Sector Reforms, introduction of renewable form of energy as well as the important committee on Foreign Direct Investment to India. The responses to these recommendations opened India substantially for larger foreign equity flows. He was part of the core group of advisors and strategists during India’s economic reforms of 1991. He was principal interlocutor for negotiations with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for structural adjustments, loans and Balance of Payment support instrumentalities.
Singh brings a wealth of national and international experience to the table, having interacted closely with multilateral organizations such as the World Bank, IMF, ADB, and OECD. His early work as First Minister, Economic and Commercial, Indian Embassy, Japan (1981–85) and subsequent contributions to the international economic order were recognized by the Emperor of Japan with the award of the “Order of the Rising Sun - Gold and Silver" in 2016. The Japanese order is the second-highest civilian award accorded to people with distinguished achievements in the field of international relations, promotion of Japanese culture, development in welfare or preservation of the environment. He was the only Indian in the list of recipients of 2016 Spring Imperial Decorations.
On the academic front, he is a Member of the Governing Board of the Nalanda University and Chairperson of its Endowments Committee. Mr. Singh has been a recurring eminent guest lecturer at prestigious academic institutions and Universities like Columbia, Yale, Stanford and the London School of Economics.
Mr Singh is also a published author with several prominent books to his name. "Politics of Change", an insight into India's politics and economy, provides incisive insights into the realities of coalition politics and international fault lines. "Not by Reason Alone," comments on the past and present of the politics of change and “The New Bihar: Rekindling Governance and Development", is a collection of perceptive essays on the Bihar model of development. He has been a reputed columnist in leading Indian newspapers including the likes of Hindustan Times, Hindustan, The Indian Express, The Hindu, and Mint.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 30, 2020
It is a collection of papers by various economists on either Bihar or BIMARU states. So it gives quality insights into how things have changed in Bihar. It is a good read for someone who does not have good background of issues of Bihar or wants information on various sectors in a structured manner.
However, as these are stand alone papers there is some degree of repetition like glory of Bihar and failures of Bihar. This gets better towards the end as each sector is discussed in different papers. It has lot of data, which is old but can be good for comparative analysis. Like one fascinating fact for me was declining gross enrolment ratio in Higher Education , it must have increased in every other state. Another downside is that it does not discuss present problems faced by the state. But thats indispensable until the authors come with a revised version.
My rating is majorly based on how much I gained from it , given my inadequate knowledge on the state.
However, as these are stand alone papers there is some degree of repetition like glory of Bihar and failures of Bihar. This gets better towards the end as each sector is discussed in different papers. It has lot of data, which is old but can be good for comparative analysis. Like one fascinating fact for me was declining gross enrolment ratio in Higher Education , it must have increased in every other state. Another downside is that it does not discuss present problems faced by the state. But thats indispensable until the authors come with a revised version.
My rating is majorly based on how much I gained from it , given my inadequate knowledge on the state.
May 16, 2016
The essays are of quite uneven quality,and frequently repeat one another, especially in the first half of the book. some were quite good (eg Banerji on education), but most were more descriptive than insightful about the drivers of the changes experienced in Bihar (eg why was Nitish Kumar able to implement governance policy so effectively)
January 18, 2014
Meticulously chosen essays which convey strong and undisputed facts about Bihar today. must read to find the depth of the plight of Bihar in modern era.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews