Raghav Bahl launches his first book

The book Superpower: The Amazing Race between China’s Hare and India’s Tortoise gives insights into the two Asian powers.

Network18 Managing Editor Raghav Bahl answers these
questions in his first book Superpower

Is India ready for superpower status? Or are we irretrievably behind in the game of catch-up with China? What are our key strengths and weaknesses, and what unique things do we have to contribute to the global community in the 21st century?

In a gala launch ceremony held at Taj Palace in New Delhi, Superpower The Amazing Race between China’s Hare and India’s Tortoise was launched yesterday by Kamal Nath, Minister of Surface and Road Transport; Nandan Nilekani, author, entrepreneur and Head of UID project; Bimal Jalan, S Damodaran, and Shekhar Gupta. The book has been published by Penguin Books India while its Hindi edition is published by Prabhat Prakashan.

Speaking at the launch, Kamal Nath said, “It is not a fight between India and China for becoming the superpower, rather we should go hand in hand to achieve the superpower status in the world. India lacks infrastructural deficit, whereas, China has explored this area, thereby moving fast forward in the path of superpower.”

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Publishing industry growing at 30 pc every year

Describing country's publishing industry as vibrant, the Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Shiv Shankar Mukherjee said it is growing at an impressive rate of 30 per cent every year, according to a PTI report.

"We come out with about 70,000 titles every year," Mukherjee said at a reception he hosted at India House in the honour of leading writers and publishers on the eve of the three-day London Book Fair, which focuses on India at the Earl's Court.
Prominent among those present on the occassion included economist and author Lord Meghnad Desai, playwright, actor and filmamaker Girish Karnad, Bollywood actress Shabana Azmi and her lyricist husband Javed Akhtar, Information Technology czar and author Nandan Nilekani and author Vikram Seth.

The High Commissioner noted that 30 per cent of titles brought out in India were in English and the rest in Indian languages. "There is tremendous amount of talent in our country," he said.
Over 50 authors and 90 publishing houses from India are participating in the Book Fair.

Mukherjee, while launching a Amit Gupta's latest book Indian by Choice, said "it was a personal pleasure to launch Amit's book as he was my deputy when I was heading the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in New Delhi."

Amartya Sen's book next for Allen Lane

Allen Lane, which is currently Penguin India's top imprint for non fiction books, saw its second release in the form of NR Narayana Murthy's A Better India, A Better World on April 20 in Delhi.
The next book to be released by Allen Lane India will be Amartya Sen's book, which will be launched in August.
Other Indian authors who are lined up to be published in the Allen Lane include Meghnad Desai, APJ Abdul Kalam, Gurcharan Das and Pavan K Varma.
Named after Penguin's foudner, the imprint was fouded in 1967 to showcase Penguin's premier publishing.

India focus at London Book Fair

More than 45 leading Indian writers, translators, critics, academics and industry professionals will be coming to the London Book Fair, to take part in a varied programme of events based on themes of cultural and linguistic diversity, designed to enable better market understanding through contemporary literature between India and the UK. This is the first time such a wide variety of authors has been showcased in this way, and the event will bring together the largest representation of Indian writers ever assembled at a publishing trade show.

Writers including Javed Akhtar, Amit Chaudhuri, Namdeo Dhasal, Ramachandra Guha, Jaishree Misra, Daljit Nagra, Anita Nair, Bhalchandra Nemade, Nandan Nilekani, K Satchidanandan, Shankar, Vikram Seth and Pavan K Varma will take part in a series of ten seminars and readings at the Fair, as well as additional events in London and around the UK. These events will highlight the richness and diversity of contemporary Indian literature, with over 15 Indian languages represented across a total of 40 events.

The British Council is hosting the following seminars:
- Imagining India: the world of fiction
- Home and the world
- Literature of identity
- Literature of conflict
- India writes
- India translated
- Literature of the cinema
- Bestsellers and popular writing
- Literature of ideas
- Battle for the Indian reader

Susie Nicklin, Director Literature, British Council, said: “Many people in the UK feel they know India and her writers, which is not surprising given their justified success in this country; many readers in India feel they are au fait with British contemporary literature. In fact, all of us will benefit hugely from this opportunity — a major part of an ongoing British Council programme – to discover more about each other’s literary cultures and societies.”