Date: Tuesday 26 January 2010
Time: 4-5.30pm
Venue: Old Theatre, Old Building
Speakers: Dr Montek Ahluwalia, Mukesh Ambani, Shobhana Bhartia, Professor Lord Desai, Shekhar Gupta, Ed Luce, Lord Patten, Nand Kishore Singh, Professor Lord Stern

Not by Reason Alone, written by Nand Kishore Singh a member of parliament in the Upper House in India is a comment on the past and present politics of change. This insightful analysis of the political economy of reform is coupled with the understanding that we need to be compassionate, passionate, creative, hopeful, and more. This book and discussion will give the audience an unusual window into the Indian political economy.

Dr Montek Ahluwalia was the first director of the Independent Evaluation Office, International Monetary Fund. He is currently deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Government of India.

Mukesh Ambani is the chairman, managing director and the largest shareholder of Reliance Industries, India's largest private sector enterprise and a Fortune 500 company.

Shobhana Bhartia is the chairperson and editorial director of the Hindustan Times group. She is also the pro chancellor of Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani.

Professor Lord Desai is founder of the Centre for the Study of Global Governance at the LSE, where he is also professor emeritus of Economics.

Shekhar Gupta is the editor-in-chief of The Indian Express. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan for the year 2009 for his contribution in the field of journalism.

Ed Luce is the Washington bureau chief of the Financial Times, London. Previously he was their South Asia Bureau Chief based at New Delhi.

Lord Patten, previously Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Hong Kong, is currently the chancellor of the University of Oxford.

Nand Kishore Singh is a former Indian Administrative Service officer and currently the Member Of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha.

Professor Lord Stern is IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government, director of the India Observatory, and chair of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at the LSE.

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