Bangalore - Reliance TimeOut, the books, music, stationery, toys and gifts store of Reliance Retail in association with Penguin Books India organized an exclusive launch of one of the most important non-fiction books of the year "Super Power? The Amazing Race between China's Hare and India's Tortoise "by Raghav Bahl at Reliance TimeOut store.
The book was unveiled amidst a huge enthusiastic crowd of book lovers followed by a special session featuring the author in conversation with Mindree Gardener Subroto Baghchi.
Flipping through the pages of 'Super Power?' one can explore China and India and the ways in which these two nations are about to change the history of the world. During the launch, the excerpt reading from the book gave a hint of this interesting nonfiction which revolved around how India and China- the two economies are together projected to dominate the world, but still there is a palpable difference in the way China and India work on the ground. Raghav Bahl feels that India can eventually overcome China but for that the country needs to fix its key problems immediately.
In the typical trend of launches and events of Reliance TimeOut audience engagement was at its zenith. Speaking at the launch Mr. Deepinder Kapany, Head, Reliance TimeOut, said, "We have always been very active in providing the most exciting and engaging book reading experiences to our readers. Today, the launch of "Super Power"' by Raghav Bahl gives us another opportunity to present a great book which portrays a new sight of two dominant economies. It is indeed a great honour to have stalwart like Subroto Bagchi amongst us today, who took part in the discussion and shared his inputs along with the author"
About the Book
A remarkably readable and informative account of the race between the two Asian giants to be the next global superpower from one of India's most respected entrepreneurs, Superpower?: The Amazing Race Between China's Hare and India's Tortoise asks the pertinent question: Is India ready for superpower status, or are we irretrievably behind in the game of catch-up with China?
In his career as a journalist and one of India's top entrepreneurs, Raghav Bahl has often faced a barrage of questions from visiting businesspeople bewildered by India: Why are Indian regulations so weak and confusing? Why is your foreign investment policy so restrictive? 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 its 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?
With telling 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.
About the Author
Raghav Bahl is founder and editor of Network18 as well as publisher of Forbes India. He has been instrumental in crafting successful joint ventures with key media giants and won the prestigious Sanskriti Award for journalism in 1994. Behl was hailed as a Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum and selected by Ernst & Young as Entrepreneur of the Year for Business Transformation in 2007. This is his first book.
