The Day the Chariot Moved: How India Grows at the Grassroots | Stories of Governance, Public Policy, Skill Development & Social Impact

by Subroto Bagchi

Subroto Bagchi uses his crossover experience from being an acknowledged leader of the Indian information technology (IT) industry to working full-time with the Government of Odisha in the rank of a cabinet minister, on a mission mode, to set up one of the stellar success stories of skill development in India. A bestselling author of several books, Bagchi uses his keen observation and experience to present stories of how the government works, of leadership at the bottom of the pyramid and the nature of transformational change in established systems. Along the way, he shows you the many facets of India that you have perhaps never seen before.

The Day the Chariot Moved is a tribute to people who make permanent change happen in one lifetime. A unique book on the imperatives for institutional leadership that is relevant across sectors, it humanizes the development agenda for policymakers in the government. It makes change agents from the social sector rethink their conventional approach and makes corporate leaders understand the complexities of making large-scale change. The stories in this book, told in a language that grips you, will help you understand the many notions of development.

The Day the Chariot Moved will move you and help you understand the how lives can be transformed at the grassroots.

336 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 22, 2025

About the author

Subroto Bagchi is best known for co-founding MindTree in 1999 where he started as the Chief Operating Officer. MindTree is among India’s most admired companies across industries. In 2008, Bagchi took on the role of Gardener at MindTree.

In this new role, Bagchi spends one-on-one time with the Top-100 leaders at MindTree on their ‘personal-professional’ issues to expand leadership capacity and build readiness for taking MindTree into the billion-dollar league. In addition, Bagchi works at the grassroots by making himself available to its 45 Communities of Practice that foster organizational learning, innovation and volunteerism within the organization.

Bagchi has written extensively in leading newspapers and magazines, and spoken at industry platforms and educational institutions the world over. His Businessworld column - Arbor Mentis - and Times of India column - Times of Mind - were widely read and discussed. Many of these are archived at www.mindtree.com/subrotobagchi.

His first book, The High Performance Entrepreneur was released in 2006 as a Penguin Portfolio publication to great critical acclaim. His second book, Go Kiss the World was released in 2008 as a Penguin Portfolio. Mark Tully hailed it as “a remarkable story of courage, integrity and enterprise”.