From Bankruptcy to Billions to hit stands

Can an omelet be served without breaking eggs? Why have economic reforms worked well in sectors like Telecom, Airports and Highways and badly in areas like Power and Irrigation? How has the Indian Railways achieved the remarkable turnaround without actually executing universally acknowledged reforms models? What is Railways Minister Lalu Prasad’s political management of reforms all about?
For those who want to find an answer to such posers is recommended this book: From Bankruptcy to Billions — co-authored by Sudhir Kumar, an Officer on Special Duty with the Railways Minister, and Shagun Mehrotra, who is currently pursuing doctoral studies at the Columbia University in New York.
President Pratibha Patil will release the book at a function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Saturday. The Oxford University Press has published the book.
“It is the story of the inclusive reforms in the Railways; a narrative about the challenges involved in reconciling conflicting commercial concerns with societal objectives,” said Kumar in an exclusive conversation with HT.
Noted experts and management gurus such as CK Prahalad, Prof Jagdish Bhagwati, Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia and R.K. Pachouri have previewed the book.
Rather than being an exercise in self-glorification, the book promises to present an objective and informed picture of policies that have failed and those that have worked.
-
Panipat man kills three within 8 hours; arrested
The accused, Ashu, a resident of Panipat’s Nara village, killed the victims, reportedly his friends, between 8pm and 4am and travelled around 60km from the first crime scene in Matlauda of Panipat to Titawi in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli. The victims are Sonu, 26, who was working with a private contractor in a cement factory, and his two friends -- Monu, 25, of Nara village and Rakesh, 27, of Bhalsi village.
-
Delhi: Tools to help schools assess mindset curriculum impact
The Delhi government introduced the Happiness curriculum in 2018, Entrepreneurship mindset curriculum in 2019 and the Deshbhakti curriculum last year with the aim of inculcating problem-solving approaches among students and making them more self-aware, self-confident and socially responsible.
-
Delhi LG inspects drainage at flooding hot spots
While the LG appreciated the work done at Indraprastha and Pul Prahladpur, he was displeased at the drainage system at Minto Bridge, flagging “technical flaws” in the drainage system and warned that engineers concerned “will be held responsible and strict action will be taken in the event of waterlogging at the site.”
-
Rebel Shiv Sena MLAs return to Mumbai after 11 days, show of strength with BJP
BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said the MLAs were informed about the election process for upcoming election for Speaker’s post. “They were told that the election will be held through a voice vote or they may have to stand up to vote for their candidate if asked,” said Mungantiwar.
-
Dry day pushes Delhi’s temperature up; IMD forecasts light rain for today
The weather department classifies rainfall between ‘trace’ and 2.4 mm as ‘very light rainfall’, as ‘light rainfall’ when it is between 2.5 mm and 15.5 mm, as ‘moderate’ rainfall when it is between 15.6 mm and 64.4 mm and as ‘heavy’ when it is over 64.5 mm in a single day.