Accelerating India’s Development: A Roadmap for Effective Governance

Speaker: Karthik Muralidharan (UC San Diego) 

Discussant: Abhijeet Singh (Stockholm School of Economics)

Moderator: Mahima Vasishth (Bocconi)

Seventy-five years after Independence, India has much to be proud of and is both the world’s biggest democracy and the fastest-growing large economy. Yet, it also faces profound challenges that hinder both individual well-being and aggregate growth, including education and skills, health and nutrition, public safety, justice, social protection, and jobs.

In his highly acclaimed recent book, “Accelerating India’s Development” (Penguin 2024), Prof. Karthik Muralidharan systematically analyses India’s governance challenges, especially in delivering essential public services, and highlights how these are limiting India’s development. Drawing on a wealth of research and practical insights, it provides actionable, evidence-based strategies, emphasizing state-level reforms as critical for India’s advancement.  Written to be widely accessible, the book aims to bridge the gap between scholarly research, public understanding, and actionable governance.  Further, while the book is about India, many of the ideas are relevant globally.

This talk will provide a high-level overview of the main argument of the book.