What are you reading now and what were the last couple of books that you read?
I am reading Raghuram Rajan’s ‘The Third Pillar’ at present. I recently read ‘Facets of Media Law’ authored by Madhavi Divan, ‘Where India Goes’ by Diane Coffey and Dean Spears, ‘Poor Economics’ by Abhijit V Banerjee and Esther Duflo, and ‘Behind the Beautiful Forevers’ by Katherine Boo.
Any particular reason for picking up this title now?
Each of these books have relevance in public policy, and therefore, I decided to read them. Besides, these are not plain academic books – they have been written in a manner that anyone can read them.
What was the big takeaway for you?
Rajan’s book stresses on the relevance of the third pillar – community in economics, and throws light on the role played by the community in sustainable development. State and market are important pillars, but they cannot progress at the expense of the third pillar of community. Katherine Boo’s ‘Behind The Beautiful Forever’ is written like a novel, but gives a lot of insight on the life in a slum of Mumbai. This is a must read, especially for municipal employees.
‘Poor Economics’ tries to understand economics from a poor person’s point of view. Policies, it says, fail because it doesn’t account for what’s the economic worldview of the poor. ‘Where India Goes’ is a critique of implementation of Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan and thus very relevant. In ‘Facets of Media Law’, Divan has touched upon almost every dimension of media law, of which freedom of expression and freedom of press are essential components.
Do you read on a device or do you prefer a physical copy?
I love reading a physical copy.
When and where do you prefer to do your reading?
I can read books effectively anywhere, although the most preferable setting is that of a library.
