Top business leader and economist write about a trailblazing future for the country
New Delhi, 31 July 2019;Penguin Random House India announces the forthcoming publication of a ground-breaking book by one of India’s leading business leaders and change-makers, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons. Titled Bridgital Nation: Solving Technology’s People Problem, this book has been co-authored by Roopa Purushothaman, Chief Economist and Head of Policy Advocacy, Tata Sons.
This book was acquired by Penguin Random House India to be published under the Allen Lane imprint and will be released in September 2019. Allen Lane imprint is known for advancing original and transformative ideas, and some of the most distinguished titles in serious non-fiction have been published under it.
Using new digital technology to address some of the biggest challenges in the country—such as access to quality jobs, better healthcare and skill-based education—Mr N. Chandrasekaran and Ms R. Purushothaman present a powerful vision for unlocking India’s economic potential to help millions of Indians achieve their dreams. Using ‘Bridgital’ technologies, the authors examine unique and novel programmes that would connect Indians across the country, creating a network of services to be delivered when and where they are most required. From healthcare to education to business, the model can be applied in various sectors. By a conservative estimate, it could create and impact 30 million jobs by 2025.
In this book, the authors acknowledge the huge chasm that exists between rural and urban communities—be it in levels of education and medical access or between aspirations and achievement—and offer real solutions to tackle these challenges using the ‘Bridgital’ technologies of the future, including mobile-ready solutions driven by the Cloud and artificial intelligence.
Meru Gokhale, publisher of Penguin Press, Penguin Random House India, says, ‘We are thrilled to be bringing Mr N. Chandrasekaran’s grand vision to the world in the form of this book. It will be published under the prestigious Allen Lane imprint, befitting a subject as significant as this. Mr Chandrasekaran offers an ingenious solution to the coming disruption of AI, where India could emerge a world leader in transforming the path ahead.’
Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons, says, ‘The process of writing this book has further cemented my belief that the adoption of Bridgital—AI, Cloud and related technologies in a deliberate manner—is the twenty-first-century answer to India’s, and to many of the developing world’s, most perpetual challenges. Bridgital thinking makes the most of what India has, and gives the country what it most needs. As a practitioner, the book’s structure reflects an effort to be closely connected to realities on the ground. In doing so, I hope this work will contribute to an educated and fruitful debate on India’s (as well as other countries’) growth and development path.’
This book brings new scalable ‘Bridgital’ ideas to life using real stories of change from different corners of India as well as new ideas from on-ground experiments that showcase the impact of technology in diverse areas—from the creation of more employment opportunities to providing better healthcare to more people. Recognizing advanced technology as a major disruptive force, Mr N. Chandrasekaran and Ms R. Purushothaman use a counterintuitive approach to harness its power to India’s advantage, one that could set India up as a one of the top three world economies.
Roopa Purushothaman, Chief Economist and Head of Policy Advocacy, Tata Sons, says, ‘Bridgital Nation has been written over the course of the past two years. It is filled with real-life narratives of people grappling with access and employment. It is also supported by numbers and analyses that ground the various stories in fact. The reality is, the future will be one of humans and technology working together. It’s this future India will have to anticipate and design for, keeping its young workforce, infrastructure, and linguistic and cultural diversity in mind.’
Richa Burman, associate commissioning editor for Penguin Press, Penguin Random House India, says, ‘It has been a tremendous experience to work with Mr Chandrasekaran and Roopa Purushothaman on this project. It is like being part of a huge transformation we all are about to witness that will overturn many presumptions. This ground-breaking vision is set to change the narrative of India’s future policies and influence a whole host of sectors.’
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About Penguin Random House India
Penguin Random House India is the largest English language trade publisher in the subcontinent, publishing over 250 new titles every year and with an active backlist of over 3000 titles. With a strong fiction and non-fiction list, it publishes across every segment including biography, travel, business, politics, history, religion and philosophy, lifestyle, cookery, health and fitness, sports and leisure, visual books and children’s books. The children’s titles are published under the Puffin imprint.
Penguin Random House India’s illustrious list includes Booker Prize-winning novels and winners of virtually every major literary prize, including the Nobel Prize, the Magsaysay Award, the Jnanpith Award, the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. Several of PRHI’s authors are also recipients of the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, India’s highest civilian honors.
Penguin Random House India is also the exclusive distribution partner for several leading local and international publishing houses in India and the sub-continent.
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Pallavi Narayan
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