Ex CEA opens up about his tenure in his book “Of Counsel: The Challenges of the Modi-Jaitley Economy”

Former Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian will open up about his tenure and critically expand on his previous articles and essays in his new book which will be out next month.

In “Of Counsel: The Challenges of the Modi-Jaitley Economy”, Subramanian provides an inside account of his rollercoaster journey as the CEA to the government of India from 2014 to 2018.

With an illustrious cast of characters, this part-memoir, part-analytical writings candidly reveal the numerous triumphs and challenges of policymaking at the zenith, while appraising India’s economic potential through comprehensive research and original hypotheses, publishers Penguin Random House India said.

Subramanian’s trusteeship saw the country through one of the most hotly contested and turbulent periods of economic governance and policymaking in recent decades -from the controversial recall of 85 per cent of circulated currency during demonetisation to a complete overhaul in taxation with the introduction of the GST.

He also addresses the overleveraging of public-sector banks, the fraught links between the state and private sector (‘stigmatised capitalism’), the changing relationship between the state and the individual, and the ever-pervasive, life-threatening issues surrounding climate change.

“I am excited to share my thinking on India and my experience as CEA - a sort of the first draft of history - with a wide readership, hopefully as wide as that of the last few Economic Surveys,” he said.

Meru Gokhale, Editor-in-Chief, Literary Publishing at Penguin Random House India, said, “In his work on changing balances in global power, as well as in his position as the Chief Economic Advisor, Subramanian had a ringside view of the economy - and indeed the state of the nation.

“Much has happened in this country in recent times that many of us grapple with in our everyday transactions. From demonetisation to GST, from the budget to tax reforms, this is the book that we need to read if we are to understand our own place as citizens in the economy.”

Subramanian is currently a visiting lecturer of public policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

He has authored several books, including “Eclipse: Living in the Shadow of China’s Economic Dominance” and “India’s Turn: Understanding the Economic Transformation”.

(With inputs from agencies.)