Book on Indian biking giant Royal Enfield wins Gaja Capital Business Book Prize, 2021

On behalf of the jury and Gaja Capital, we congratulate Amrit on a well-deserved victory, he added.In 2019, the award was won by Girish Kuber, the author of The Tatas How a Family Built a Business and a Nation, and by journalist Mihir Dalal for his debut book, Big Billion Startup The Untold Flipkart Story, in 2020.

'Indian Icon: A Cult Called Royal Enfield', a riveting story of the creation of a powerful Indian brand going global by author Amrit Raj, won the 2021 Gaja Capital Business Book Prize on Monday.

The winner was selected from a shortlist of five books -- including ''Overdraft: Saving the Indian Saver'' by Urjit Patel, ''Yes Man: The Untold Story of Rana Kapoor'' by Pavan C Lall, ''Azim Premji: The Man Beyond the Billions'' by Sundeep Khanna and ''Getting Competitive: A Practitioner's Guide for India'' by RC Bhargava -- showcasing the vibrant Indian business ecosystem.

Instituted two years ago to encourage Indian entrepreneurs, writers, and journalists to tell their stories for the world, the award offers a prize money of Rs 15 lakh -- making it the ''biggest business book prize'' in the country.

''This year's winner -- 'Indian Icon: A Cult Called Royal Enfield' -- takes readers through the riveting story of the creation of a powerful Indian brand. ''Rich in insights from consumers, the company management and industry colleagues, it balances the story of the brand with lessons in management and entrepreneurship. Warm congratulations both to the author and to the team at Royal Enfield,'' read a statement from the jury.

The jury for the third edition, comprising stalwarts from the worlds of industry, investments, academia, public policy, and governance, was headed by Manish Sabharwal, the chairman of Teamlease.

Published by Westland, the book covers the brand's origins, its near-collapse and eventual revival. Besides spilling the beans on the ''behind-the-scenes takeover dramas'' and the ''bare-knuckled battle'' to create the iconic brand, it is also the story of the clash of the old guard with the new leading to dramatic changes in the business.

''After spending long hours deliberating over and debating the books, the jury came to a unanimous decision of awarding Amrit Raj and his book, 'Indian Icon: A Cult called Royal Enfield' as the winner of the Gaja Book Prize 2021,'' said Gopal Jain, co-founder and managing partner of equity firm Gaja Capital.

''Indian Icon is a fast-paced, engaging, and well-researched title, and Amrit has been spot-on in his analysis of how a rare global brand from India was built, unbiased in his criticism and balanced in his praise. On behalf of the jury and Gaja Capital, we congratulate Amrit on a well-deserved victory,'' he added.

In 2019, the award was won by Girish Kuber, the author of ''The Tatas: How a Family Built a Business and a Nation'', and by journalist Mihir Dalal for his debut book, ''Big Billion Startup: The Untold Flipkart Story'', in 2020.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)