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Accelerating India’s Development

Accelerating India’s Development

A State-Led Roadmap for Effective Governance

Karthik Muralidharan
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Seventy-five years after Independence, India has much to be proud of. We are the world’s biggest democracy as well as the fastest-growing large economy. Yet, we also face profound challenges that hinder both individual well-being and aggregate growth, including education and skills, health and nutrition, public safety, justice, social protection, and jobs.

This seminal book systematically analyses India’s governance challenges, especially in delivering essential public services, and highlights how these are limiting India’s development. Drawing on a wealth of research and practical insights, it provides actionable, evidence-based strategies, emphasizing state-level reforms as critical for India’s advancement.

Accelerating India’s Development is addressed to all Indians—leaders, officials, entrepreneurs, teachers, students, citizens, and civil society—and provides an urgent call to action. It argues that building a more effective state is the great unfinished task of Indian democracy, because quality public services are key to translating the political equality of ‘one person, one vote’ into greater equality of opportunity for all Indians.

Every chapter showcases the author’s dedication to bridging the gap between scholarly research, public understanding, and actionable governance. This book is a testament to cautious optimism and the belief that with the right public systems in place, the next twenty-five years can be a period of unprecedented growth and societal enrichment for India.

Imprint: India Viking

Published: Feb/2024

ISBN: 9780670095940

Length : 832 Pages

MRP : ₹1299.00

Accelerating India’s Development

A State-Led Roadmap for Effective Governance

Karthik Muralidharan

Seventy-five years after Independence, India has much to be proud of. We are the world’s biggest democracy as well as the fastest-growing large economy. Yet, we also face profound challenges that hinder both individual well-being and aggregate growth, including education and skills, health and nutrition, public safety, justice, social protection, and jobs.

This seminal book systematically analyses India’s governance challenges, especially in delivering essential public services, and highlights how these are limiting India’s development. Drawing on a wealth of research and practical insights, it provides actionable, evidence-based strategies, emphasizing state-level reforms as critical for India’s advancement.

Accelerating India’s Development is addressed to all Indians—leaders, officials, entrepreneurs, teachers, students, citizens, and civil society—and provides an urgent call to action. It argues that building a more effective state is the great unfinished task of Indian democracy, because quality public services are key to translating the political equality of ‘one person, one vote’ into greater equality of opportunity for all Indians.

Every chapter showcases the author’s dedication to bridging the gap between scholarly research, public understanding, and actionable governance. This book is a testament to cautious optimism and the belief that with the right public systems in place, the next twenty-five years can be a period of unprecedented growth and societal enrichment for India.

Buying Options
Paperback / Hardback

Karthik Muralidharan

Karthik Muralidharan is the Tata Chancellor’s Professor of Economics at the University of California San Diego. His research spans public finance and development economics, with a focus on improving education, health, welfare, and public service delivery, and has been published in many of the world’s leading academic journals. He has also actively engaged in policy advising and capacity building in India at both Central and state-government levels, and in public communication of research insights through several op-eds and podcasts.

Professor Muralidharan is also the co-founder and scientific director of the Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States, a non-profit organization that works with multiple state governments across India to improve state capacity, governance, and service delivery. Born and raised in India, he holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard, an MPhil from Cambridge (UK), and a PhD in economics from Harvard.

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