Book talk: “India’s Pathways to Success, Winning in the Next Decade”
The Vikram Sarabhai Library and Ashank Desai Center for Leadership and Organizational Development organized a book talk on Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, Executive Chairman and Founder, 5F World, on his book “India’s Pathways to Success: Winning in the Next Decade”. Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, Padma Vibhushan, Former Director General, CSIR, and Shri Ashank Desai, Founder, and Ex-Chairman, Mastek, will also join the talk. Prof. Neharika Vohra, Organisational Behaviour IIMA, will moderate the book talk.
It was my privilege to read this book, learn from it, to resolve to work towards overcoming my weaknesses and to work hard with discipline and honesty to add my miniscule effort to strengthen our country. —N.R. Narayana Murthy, Founder, Infosys. Where does India stand today economically, socially, and politically, 75 years after Independence? Where should it aspire to go from here in the next 25 years as it touches the milestone of 100 years of Independence in 2047?
Should India become a manufacturing powerhouse to rival China? Or should it stay content with services and become the Information Superpower of the world? What about pursuing new opportunities in agriculture, healthcare and other segments to become the world’s best user of technology to create globally best-in-class industries?
Can a new wave of research and innovation be unleashed to transform urban and rural habitats where high-quality education and skills are available to create sustainable livelihoods through employment and entrepreneurship?
Will India be able to achieve the target of a $5-trillion GDP in the foreseeable future? And finally, what about our pathways to achieve social harmony and see ourselves emerge as proud Indians in a thriving democracy?
Edited by Ganesh Natarajan and Ejaz Ghani, India’s Pathways to Success: Winning in the Next Decade is a compilation of essays by some of the best minds in India. It takes an optimist’s view and uses a lens of success to view the past, examine the present and identify torches that can shine into the darkness of the unknown and determine robust pathways for the future.
A must-read for the young people of India, to whom this book is dedicated by the Pune International Centre.
- Dr. Ganesh Natarajan
Dr. Ganesh Natarajan is the Executive Chairman and Founder of 5F World, a platform for Digital Start-ups, Skills, and Social Ventures in the country. He is also Chairman of Honeywell Automation India and Lighthouse Communities Foundation and a Central Board member of the State Bank of India and Hinduja Global Solutions.
Ganesh is an alumnus of BIT Mesra, NITIE, IIT Bombay, and Harvard Business School. He has received the Distinguished Alumnus Award of IIT Bombay and NITIE and has been recognized by EY and the Asia Pacific HR Forum for excellence in technology entrepreneurship and people-centric leadership. Harvard Business School has written two case studies on Dr. Ganesh Natarajan and his success through Vision Communities and Innovation.
Ganesh is the author /co-author of twelve previous books on Technology, Innovation and Leadership. The recent Rupa book on “Rising to the China challenge” has received acclaim in business and policy circles in India and abroad.
- Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar
Dr. Raghunath Anant Mashelkar is known for his own world class scientific research, transformative science and innovation institution leadership, pioneering different Indian movements ranging from traditional knowledge protection to creation of strong yet balanced IPR systems, to inclusive innovation movement based on the concept of Gandhian Engineering that he pioneered. He has been an influential thought leader in shaping Science, Technology & Innovation policies in post-liberalised India.
The President of India honored Dr. Mashelkar with three of the highest civilian awards, namely Padmashri (1991), Padmabhushan (2000), and Padma Vibhushan (2014).
He has received a record of 45 honorary doctorates from universities around the world, from London to Pretoria to Wisconsin to Monash to Swinburne to Delhi.
- Shri Ashank Desai
Mr. Ashank Desai is the founder, vice chairman, and managing director of Mastek Ltd. He is also Co-founder and Chairman Emeritus, NASSCOM, and Vice President Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organisation.
He is actively involved in the field of education and is a former member Board of Governors, IIM Ahmedabad, a member of governing board & society of Goa Institute of Management (GIM) for the last 11 years, and now the president of GIM Society. He is a member of governing board of IIIT, Bhubaneswar & Goa Engineering College, in addition to being vice chairman of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) for the Goa Government. He serves on the advisory boards of SJM School of Management and as vice-chairman for the Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE) at his alma mater, IIT Bombay
He is widely recognized as an IT industry veteran and is one of the founder members and a past chairman of NASSCOM. He was a former president of Asian Oceanian Computing Industry Organisation (ASOCIO), an association of 20 countries.
Recently, he was felicitated by the prime minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, for his contribution to NASSCOM and the IT Industry over the last 25 years.
