| MUMBAI:
CNBC-TV18, India’s No. 1 business medium in association with CNN-IBN launched
Raghav Bahl’s - ‘Superpower? : The Amazing Race between China’s
Hare and India’s Tortoise’, a debut and non-fiction book which provides
excellent insights into two of the most evolving global economies, India and China,
undergoing a transformational shift in the race of becoming the next global superpower.
This book reiterates whether India is ready for the superpower status or not and
are we irretrievably behind in the game of catching-up with China. The book was
launched by the hands of Union Cabinet Minister of Road Transport and Highways,
Shri Kamal Nath, at Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in New Delhi on August 17, 2010.
In his career
as one of India’s top entrepreneurs, Raghav Bahl, Founder and Editor, Network18,
has often faced a barrage of questions from visiting business people bewildered
by India: Why are Indian regulations so weak and confusing? Why is your foreign
investment policy so restrictive? How come your hotels are world-class, when the
roads leading to them are so pot-holed? Why don’t you lower your voice when
you make fun of your politicians? Why do you control the price of oil and cable
TV? How is it that you speak such good English? Inevitably, the questions are
followed by the observation: But, you know, that’s not the way it is in China.
Indeed, even
as the dragon and elephant economies are together projected to dominate the world
in a matter of decades, there is a palpable difference in the way China and India
work on the ground. China is spectacularly effective in building infrastructure
and is currently investing almost half it’s GDP; it is crafting a new economic
idiom that has stood textbook wisdom on its head. Meanwhile, India is the classic
example of a ‘promising’ economy: more than half its GDP is consumed
by its billion-plus population; half its population is younger than twenty-five,
giving it a unique demographic advantage; 350 million Indians understand English,
making it the largest English-using country in the world; and it is, of course,
the world’s largest democracy. In
the race to superpower status, who is likely to breast the tape—China’s
hare or India’s tortoise? China’s awe-inspiring sweep, compared to India’s
relatively mild rise, could tempt an easy answer. But Bahl argues that the winner
of the race with the biggest stakes ever might not be determined by who is investing
more and growing faster today, but by something slightly more intangible—who
has superior innovative skills and more entrepreneurial savvy and is grappling
with and expanding in the most intensely competitive conditions. In the end, it
might come down to just one deciding factor: Can India fix its governance before
China repairs its politics? Providing
informative insights into the two Asian powers’ histories, polities, economies
and cultures- Superpower? : The Amazing Race between China’s Hare and India’s
Tortoise is a brilliantly written, superbly documented, rich and comprehensive
account of the race to dominance between the two neighbours. For anyone looking
to understand China and India and the ways in which these two nations are about
to change the history of the world, this is the book to read. Speaking
at the launch of his debut book, Mr. Raghav Bahl, Founder and Editor, Network18,
said, “The moral – Slow and Steady wins the race of the famous story
of the Hare and a Tortoise righteously has been interpreted in my debut book -
Superpower? : The Amazing Race between China’s Hare and India’s Tortoisei.
It is indeed a critical commentary on the political economy of India challenged
by China to race her. I would recommend this book to all aspiring citizens of
our nation to gain a new perspective of the future global power. ”
Raghav Bahl’s
- Superpower? : The Amazing Race between China’s Hare and India’s Tortoise
is published by Allen Lane, Pengiums Books India and is available for Rs. 699/-.
The book launch
witnessed the presence of luminaries such as Mr. Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, Unique
Identification Authority of India; Mr. M Damodaran, Former Chairman, SEBI; Mr.
Bimal Jalan, Former Governor, RBI and Mr. Shekhar Gupta, Editor-in-Chief, The
Indian Express. These luminaries and India’s biggest Economic thought leaders
explored the most crucial aspects of the socio-economic and political framework
of both the nations through an interactive discussion with Mr. Bahl at the launch
of his book. | 
