<p>This volume seeks to honour the lifelong passion and commitment of Abid Hussain—a distinguished civil servant, a diplomat, and a concerned citizen of India who contributed to the public sphere in a wide range of areas—for a better India. It includes nine essays covering contemporary issues in economic policy, governance, and society that will shape India’s future over the coming decades. Among the key messages of the essays are that India needs a developmental State that thoughtfully intervenes in the market and economic policies guided by the imperative of generating good jobs. These policies need to be set within the context of Union-State relations underpinned by an appropriate mix of cooperative and competitive federalism and a political order where India’s liberal democracy strives to relieve individuals from the burden of compulsory identities and stresses individual rights. This volume also consists of seven tributes to Abid Hussain by eminent scholars and policymakers.</p> <p>Essays<br /> DIPANKAR GUPTA<br /> RANA HASAN<br /> ABID HUSSAIN<br /> RAJIV KUMAR<br /> PRATAP BHANU MEHTA<br /> RAKESH MOHAN<br /> SUDIPTO MUNDLE<br /> DEEPAK NAYYAR<br /> Y.V. REDDY</p> <p>Tributes<br /> JAGDISH BHAGWATI<br /> NITIN DESAI<br /> PRATAP BHANU MEHTA<br /> DEEPAK NAYYAR<br /> ARVIND PANAGARIYA<br /> JAIRAM RAMESH<br /> Y.V. REDDY</p>

<p><strong>Deepak Nayyar</strong> is Professor Emeritus at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and an Honorary Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford. Earlier, he has taught at the University of Oxford, the University of Sussex, the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, and the New School for Social Research, New York. He was Vice Chancellor of the University of Delhi from 2000 to 2005. He also served as Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India and Secretary in the Ministry of Finance from 1989 to 1991. His research interests are primarily in the areas of international economics, macroeconomics and development economics. Prof Nayyar has published more than 75 papers in academic journals and 15 books. His latest book, Catch Up: Developing Countries in the World Economy, was published by Oxford University Press, Oxford.</p> <p><strong>Rana Hasan</strong> is an economist with a multilateral development institution. His research has focused on understanding how market-oriented economic reforms affect labour market outcomes and industrial performance, and the relationship between growth, poverty, and inequality in the Asia-Pacific region. He has worked previously as Fellow at the East-West Center (USA). His research has been published in various journals including Journal of Development Economics, Review of Economics and Statistics, and World Development. He has also co-edited two volumes on trade and labour related issues. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Maryland and a Masters’ degree in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi.</p>

<p>Essays<br /> <strong>Dipankar Gupta</strong> is Distinguished Professor, Shiv Nadar University. His previous positions include Director, Centre for Public Affairs and Critical Theory, Shiv Nadar University and Professor in the sociology departments of Jawaharalal Nehru University and University of Delhi. He has held a number of visiting positions including Leverhulme Professor at the London School of Economics and Fulbright Professor at the University of Massachusetts. He has also served as Director, Reserve Bank of India and Director, National Bank for Rural Development. He has written numerous journal articles and authored and edited 18 books including, <em>The Caged Phoenix: Can India Fly?</em> (Stanford University Press). In 2010, he was awarded Chevalier De L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Artes and Letters) by the French Government.</p> <p><strong>Rana Hasan</strong> is an economist with a multilateral development institution. His research has focused on understanding how market-oriented economic reforms affect labour market outcomes and industrial performance, and the relationship between growth, poverty, and inequality in the Asia-Pacific region. He has worked previously as Fellow at the East-West Center (USA). His research has been published in various journals including <em>Journal of Development Economics, Review of Economics and Statistics, </em>and <em>World Development</em>. He has also co-edited two volumes on trade and labour related issues. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Maryland and a Masters’ degree in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi.</p> <p><strong>Abid Hussain (1926-2012)</strong> belonged to the Indian Administrative Service (1951-1985) and served as India’s Ambassador to United States of America; Member, Planning Commission; and Secretary, Ministry of Commerce; and Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries. He chaired a number of important committees set up by the Government of India including those covering trade policy reforms; restructuring of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research; and small scale industry. He was also a member of the committee for reviewing India’s Constitution. He held senior positions in various think tanks and institutions including serving as Vice Chairman, Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and Chairman, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. He was deputed by the Government of India to work for various United Nation agencies. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan.</p> <p><strong>Rajiv Kumar</strong> is Chancellor of the Gokhale Institute of Economics and Politics in Pune, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi and the Founding Director of Pahle India Foundation. He was previously Secretary General of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry; Director &amp; Chief Executive of Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER); and Chief Economist of Confederation of Indian Industry, 2004-2006. He worked at the Asian Development Bank from 1995 to 2005 and in the Government of India from 1989 to 1995. He is a leading columnist and has published extensively. His latest book, <em>Modi and his Challenges </em>was published in May 2016 by Bloomsbury. He has a DPhil in Economics from Oxford University and a PhD from Lucknow University.</p> <p><strong>Pratap Bhanu Mehta</strong> is President, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi. He has also been Professor at Harvard University, New York University, and Jawaharlal Nehru University. He has published widely on political theory, society and politics in India, and constitutional law. He is co-editor of the <em>Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution </em>and has also served on the Board of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy and the National Council of Applied Economic Research among others. He is the recipient of the Infosys Prize and the Malcolm S. Adisheshiah Prize. He has published widely in the fields of political theory, intellectual history, constitutional law, politics and society in India and international politics. He is on the Editorial Board of numerous journals including the <em>American Political Science Review and Journal of Democracy. </em>He holds a PhD in Politics from Princeton University.</p> <p><strong>Rakesh Mohan</strong> is Distinguished Fellow at Brookings India and teaches at Yale University as Senior Fellow in the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. He has served as Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India; Secretary, Ministry of Finance and an Executive Director on the Board of the International Monetary Fund. He was also Chairman of the National Transport Development Policy Committee of the Government of India with rank of Minister of State, and Senior Adviser, McKinsey Global Institute, McKinsey and Company. He is also a Non-Resident Senior Research Fellow of Stanford University. His latest book, <em>Growth with Financial Stability: Central Banking in an Emerging Market</em> (Oxford University Press) was published in August 2011.</p> <p><strong>Sudipto Mundle </strong>is an Emeritus Professor at the National Institute of Public Finance &amp; Policy (NIPFP), New Delhi, and a Visiting Senior Fellow at Centre for Policy Affairs and Critical Theory, Shiv Nadar University, New Delhi. He is also a member of the governing bodies of NIPFP and the Institute for Human Development, New Delhi. Prior to this, he was a member of the Fourteenth Finance Commission, a member of the Reserve Bank of India Monetary Policy Advisory Committee and member and acting Chairman of the National Statistical Commission. He was with the Asian Development Bank for a number of years and has also held senior faculty positions in academic institutions in India and had visiting assignments at the University of Cambridge, Yale University, Institute of Social Studies, and the Netherlands &amp; Japan Foundation. He was also an Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Finance, Government of India. He has published extensively in professional journals and authored several books.&nbsp;</p> <p><br /> <strong>Deepak Nayyar</strong> is Professor Emeritus at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and an Honorary Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford. Earlier, he has taught at the University of Oxford, the University of Sussex, the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, and the New School for Social Research, New York. He was Vice Chancellor of the University of Delhi from 2000 to 2005. He also served as Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India and Secretary in the Ministry of Finance from 1989 to 1991. His research interests are primarily in the areas of international economics, macroeconomics and development economics. Prof Nayyar has published more than 75 papers in academic journals and 15 books. His latest book, <em>Catch Up: Developing Countries in the World Economy</em>, was published by Oxford University Press, Oxford.</p> <p><strong>Yaga Venugopal Reddy </strong>served as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and Chairman of the Fourteenth Finance Commission, Government of India. An officer of the Indian Administrative Service, he has held the positions of Secretary (Banking) in the Ministry of Finance, Government of India and Principal Secretary in Government of Andhra Pradesh. He served as an Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund.He has written numerous scholarly papers and authored several books, including <em>Economic Policies and India’s Reform Agenda: New Thinking </em>published by Orient Blackswan. He was Distinguished Professor of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and has been a visiting fellow and professor at numerous prestigious institutions including the London School of Economics, Osmania University, and Administrative Staff College of India. He is a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan.</p> <p>Tributes&nbsp;<br /> <strong>Jagdish Bhagwati </strong>is a University Professor at Columbia University and Director of the Raj Center on Indian Economic Policies. He was Senior Fellow in International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations. He has been Economic Policy Adviser to Arthur Dunkel, Director General of GATT (1991-93), Special Adviser to the UN on Globalisation, and External Adviser to the WTO. He has served on several high-level expert groups and advisory committees and has published numerous scholarly articles. Five volumes of his scientific writings and two of his public policy essays have been published by MIT press. He has also received several prizes and honorary degrees, including awards from the governments of India (Padma Vibhushan) and Japan (Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star).&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Nitin Desai </strong>is an Indian economist and international civil servant. He has held numerous prestigious position in the Government of India including Special Secretary in the Planning Commission and Secretary and Chief Economic Adviser in the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. He has also served as Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations. He has written extensively, contributing to major reports at international and national levels.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Arvind Panagariya </strong>is the Vice Chairman of Niti Aayog of India and Professor of Economics at Columbia University. In the past, he has been the Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank and a Professor of Economics and Co-Director, Center for International Economics, University of Maryland at College Park. He has written numerous scholarly articles in leading technical and policy journals and has written/edited 10 books. He has been an editor of the <em>India Policy Forum</em>, jointly published by the Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C. and the National Council on Applied Economic Research, New Delhi. He holds a PhD from Princeton University.</p> <p><strong>Jairam Ramesh </strong>is an Indian economist and politician belonging to Indian National Congress. He is a Member of Parliament representing Andhra Pradesh state in the Rajya Sabha since June 2004. He has served the Government of India in various capacities including as Minister of Rural Development and Minister of State (Independent Charge) at the Ministry of Environment and Forests. He has also served in the Planning Commission, Ministry of Industry and other economic departments of the Government of India. He has has been a columnist for the <em>Business Standard, Business Today, The Telegraph, Times of India and India Today</em>, sometimes under the pen-name “Kautilya”.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>