72 @ 72 : 72 unfinished things India@72 needs to do

by Amit Bagaria

Most people who know me generally consider me to be a well-informed person. In almost 35 years of adult life, I have had the unique experience of working in as many as 22 different (and often quiet varied or unconnected) industries/sectors.
I have had the opportunity to travel to almost all Indian states and all five continents, and the chance to interact with “famous” people such as Bill Clinton to PV Narasimha Rao, Sathya Sai Baba to Kanchi Shankaracharya, Sunil Dutt to Amitabh Bachchan, Mukesh Ambani to Kumar Mangalam Birla and Cyrus Mistry.
Thus, I’ve had the opportunity to see, listen and learn, which has been much more beneficial than college education. Having studied journalism, I am a news freak who is glued to TV without sleeping 72 hours when incidents such as 9/11 or 26/11 happen.
In my opinion (and I have been known for being outspoken), India is nowhere close to greatness. At the risk of sounding like a naysayer, I would say we were (until May 2014), and in many ways still are, closer to anarchy and chaos. I have read many books and opinion pieces, watched many TV interviews and heard a lot of gyaan from several gyaanis, but no one has come close to explaining what all is wrong with India, or how to fix it. I do not profess to be a philosopher or a visionary. But I do have some ideas, which I want to share with my countrymen … and a lot of the same would probably apply in many other nations as well.
All I heard was “the system is wrong … and it can’t be fixed”. After just 51 months of Modi as Prime Minister, people are wondering what WAS going on for 67 years before him. Yes, the system is wrong … but IS BEING fixed, and this book just gives some additional ideas to Mr. Modi, but I woun't be surprised if he knows most of it and has it on his agenda.
This book outlines 72 items which are pending action from the governments over the years, as India nears 72 years of independence from the UK. The time has come to finish the uncomplete agenda.

492 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 9, 2019

About the author

His parents thought he was studying business administration in the USA.
 He was actually studying journalism.

His parents thought he was doing case studies on IBM and Pepsi. 
 He was actually interviewing the Governor of Ohio or a convicted murderer in jail.

When he was a consultant for the Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital in Pune, he told Rajshree
 Birla and Kumar Mangalam Birla their offices would be in the Basement of the Hospital.

As an entrepreneur, Amit has been India’s No.1 Healthcare Consultant, India’s No.1 Retail Consultant, and India’s No.1 Residential Real Estate Consultant, apart from excelling in several other sectors.

As a Retail Consultant, he wrote prolifically for various retail publications. For one article, he interviewed several industry leaders, including Kishore Biyani, considered the father of modern retail in India. Little did poor Mr. Biyani know that Amit would lambast him in the article. The next time they ran into each other, Mr. Biyani told Amit that - being a fellow Marwari - he should have been less critical of him.

It was the same article that led a leading publisher to approach Amit to write a book - back in 2010, 
but that part of Amit’s life only began 7 years later. When he did begin, he did not stop or even pause. He has completed 11 books in 26 months and is now working on his 12th.