Telling Tales of Innovation and Enterprise
‘Transforming our Cities – Postcards of change’ book by Dr Isher J Alhuwalia
-Express Group unveiled the book officially
The Book provides an overview of the challenge of urbanization in India
New Delhi 10th February 2014: The Express group to officially unveiled the book, ‘Transforming our Cities- Postcards of change’ by Dr Isher J Alhuwalia noted author and (Chairperson, Board of Governors, the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) today at The Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi. Book was released by the chief guest of the evening P. Chidambaran The Hon’ble Union Minister of Finance in the presence of other dignitaries. This book is a documentation of the stories of innovation and enterprise that have transformed governance and the quality of life in these cities.
Event was followed by a panel discussion on State of our Cities with esteemed panelist comprising of Arun Jaitley (Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha), Jyotiraditya M Scindia (The Hon’ble Union Minister of State for power), Sanjay Baru (Director for Geo-economics and Strategy, International Institute for Strategic Studies) and Barkha Dutt (Group Editor, NDTV)
Speaking on the occasion author of the book Dr Isher J Alhuwalia said ““We need to ensure that our governments plan and manage our cities so as to deliver services in line with our expectations and aspirations. We need to voice our concerns when this does not happen and help bring about the change we expect. The good news is that change has begun in urban India, and it is making a difference in a few cities”.
“Isher’s stories cut across barriers of geography and politics as she has been so wonderfully non-partisan in choosing the datelines for her postcards. She tells you that all is not lost, and a lot more remains to be done.” Said Mr Shekhar Gupta, Editor-in-Chief, The Express Group
Speaking on the occasion, Satyajeet Krishnan, General Manager, The Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi said, “In our constant endeavour to create unique and meaningful experiences, The Taj Mahal Hotel is honoured to be associated with the launch of TRANSFORMING OUR CITIES, Postcards of Change by Dr. Isher Judge Ahluwalia. Dr. Ahluwalia, with her multidimensional experience in, brilliantly captures the stories of innovation and enterprise in her latest book. We are privileged to welcome the distinguished audience to this special evening.”
About The Book
Transforming our Cities by Isher Judge Ahluwalia is an aankho-dekhi and ankon-janchi story of the change in some of India’s cities that the author has observed in the Course of her extensive travel in the past 4 years. The author traveled to small town, medium cities and large mega-cities of India in search of what works to improved services delivery. She has covered various verticals in this book whether it is water supply, wastewater disposal and treatment, solid waste management, system of public transport, or city planning.
The Book provides an overview of the challenge of urbanization in India and specific issues in individual sectors such as drinking water, solid waste management, etc while applauding human leadership which stands out in each case, the individual case studies highlight the role of the enabling environment provide by the state government which was a key factor in driving change, leadership provided by the government of India in general and the catalytic role of JNNURM, in particular.
About the Author
Dr. Isher judge Ahluwalia is Chairperson, Board of Governors -The Indian council for research on International Economic relations (ICRIER), where she served as Director and Chief Executive from 1997-2001. Dr. Ahluwalia was awarded Padma Bhusan by the President of India in the year 2009 for her services in the field of education and literature. Dr. Ahluwalia is Chairperson of the high powered expert committee on urban infrastructure, appointed by the ministry of Urban Development, Government of India in may 2008. She is also member of National manufacturing competitiveness council government of India. Dr. Ahluwalia is on the Boards of a number of premier Research institutes in India. She is currently Member. Advisory Group on institutional and human resources management, the asian Development Bank. Member. External review and advisory board to the Asian development Bank on their flagship study “Institutions for Regionalism” to strengthen institutional capabilities of institutions for Asian Economic Cooperation and Integration.
Dr, Ahluwalia has published many articles in professional journals and also engaged actively in policy debate in India through writing in newspapers and magazines and participating in Discussions in the electronic media.
About Express Book Series
Express Book Series was instituted in 2006 with the launch of India Empowered, a compilation of articles written under the India Empowered campaign that appeared in The Indian Express. Over the years 30 books have been released by renowned authors including P. Chidambaram, Tavleen Singh, N.K. Singh, Arun Shourie, Harsha Bhogle, Mani Shankar Aiyar and Jerry Rao. Express Book Series has also released titles under the The Indian Express Ltd. such as India Empowered, India’s Elected, Inside 26/11, 187 Lives, The Prize Stories and many more