Rajeev Budhiraja’s Post

My father and I recently released our book, The Governance Gap: Unlocking India’s Potential. The book poses a simple but urgent question: Has India failed to deliver good governance to its people? Our core message is clear: India can only realize its full potential if it uplifts the 50% of the population that has been left behind for so long. Strengthening agriculture, improving rural public health and education, expanding skills and vocational training, and investing in human development are essential steps. Only then can India capitalize on the demographic dividend opportunity and find its rightful place on the global stage. This project became deeply personal. In December 2023, when my father was hospitalized, he said, “I need your help to finish my book.” What began as his decades-long research turned into a meaningful father–son journey, one that I will always treasure. I am grateful to Rupa Publications India, especially Kapish Mehra, for believing in the manuscript, and to Dibakar Ghosh for supporting us through the ups and downs. I am also grateful to M. Asad Pathan, Former Chairman of Indian Oil Corp Limited and Resident Director of the Tata Group, and Himadri Das, Director-General, IMI Delhi, for providing endorsements. I urge all well-wishers of India to read the book, though it has lessons for all democracies and developing countries too, and is available on Amazon: https://lnkd.in/eEfEkUdC I hope it will stir a thought or two and motivate you to add to the conversation, promoting India’s further development and rise.