'Transforming our Cities - Postcards of change' book by Dr Isher J Alhuwalia

The Express group to officially unveiled the book, 'Transforming our Cities- Postcards of change' by Dr Isher J Alhuwalia noted author and (Chairperson, Board of Governors, the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) today at The Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi. Book was released by the chief guest of the evening P. Chidambaran The Hon'ble Union Minister of Finance in the presence of other dignitaries. This book is a documentation of the stories of innovation and enterprise that have transformed governance and the quality of life in these cities.

Event was followed by a panel discussion on State of our Cities with esteemed panelist comprising of Arun Jaitley (Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha), Jyotiraditya M Scindia (The Hon'ble Union Minister of State for power), Sanjay Baru (Director for Geo-economics and Strategy, International Institute for Strategic Studies) and Barkha Dutt (Group Editor, NDTV)

Speaking on the occasion author of the book Dr Isher J Alhuwalia said ""We need to ensure that our governments plan and manage our cities so as to deliver services in line with our expectations and aspirations. We need to voice our concerns when this does not happen and help bring about the change we expect. The good news is that change has begun in urban India, and it is making a difference in a few cities".

"Isher's stories cut across barriers of geography and politics as she has been so wonderfully non-partisan in choosing the datelines for her postcards. She tells you that all is not lost, and a lot more remains to be done." Said Mr Shekhar Gupta, Editor-in-Chief, The Express Group

Speaking on the occasion, Satyajeet Krishnan, General Manager, The Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi said, "In our constant endeavour to create unique and meaningful experiences, The Taj Mahal Hotel is honoured to be associated with the launch of TRANSFORMING OUR CITIES, Postcards of Change by Dr. Isher Judge Ahluwalia. Dr. Ahluwalia, with her multidimensional experience in, brilliantly captures the stories of innovation and enterprise in her latest book. We are privileged to welcome the distinguished audience to this special evening."

About The Book

Transforming our Cities by Isher Judge Ahluwalia is an aankho-dekhi and ankon-janchi story of the change in some of India's cities that the author has observed in the Course of her extensive travel in the past 4 years. The author traveled to small town, medium cities and large mega-cities of India in search of what works to improved services delivery. She has covered various verticals in this book whether it is water supply, wastewater disposal and treatment, solid waste management, system of public transport, or city planning.

The Book provides an overview of the challenge of urbanization in India and specific issues in individual sectors such as drinking water, solid waste management, etc while applauding human leadership which stands out in each case, the individual case studies highlight the role of the enabling environment provide by the state government which was a key factor in driving change, leadership provided by the government of India in general and the catalytic role of JNNURM, in particular.

Source : Equity Bulls

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