PORTRAITS OF POWER

Half a century inside Indian government gave N.K. Singh a seat at the table for many of the decisions that shaped the country's economy. His memoir moves between the people he worked alongside and the machinery they worked within: the civil service, finance ministries, negotiations and the slow process by which a policy becomes law. Singh writes about economic reform, the relationship between officials and politicians, and the compromises that governing required, sketching the figures he met along the way. The tone is reflective rather than score-settling, and the book doubles as an account of how modern Indian administration took shape. Background and scope: • A memoir spanning decades of Indian public service • Portraits of the politicians and officials the author worked with • Accounts of economic reform and policy-making from the inside • Reflections on governance, diplomacy and administrative practice Valuable for students of politics, civil service aspirants and readers of political memoir, from the nonfiction shelves at Boipoka.