Shortlist of third Gaja Capital Business Book Prize unveiled
Azim Premji: The Man Beyond the Billions by Sundeep Khanna and Getting Competitive: A Practitioner's Guide for India by RC Bhargava are among the five non-fiction books on contemporary Indian business that have made it to the shortlist of the third Gaja Capital Business Book Prize. The shortlisted books were announced on Tuesday. Here's more.
Other titles that made the cut
The shortlisted books comprise a diverse range of stories of business leaders, entrepreneurial journeys, and the specter of leadership. Other titles making the cut include Indian Icon: A Cult called Royal Enfield by Amit Raj, Overdraft: Saving the Indian Saver by Urjit Patel, and Yes Man: The Untold Story of Rana Kapoor by Pavan C Lall.
These business stories are canonizing struggle, joys of entrepreneurship: Organizers
According to the organizers, these chronicles of Indian business stories are "canonizing the struggle and joys" of entrepreneurship, creating a repository of pioneers and their experiences. "A poet once said that the universe isn't made of atoms but stories," said Manish Sabharwal, entrepreneur and chairman of the Gaja Capital Business Book Prize jury.
Shortlist this year has multiple stories of triumph, tragedy: Jury
The Gaja Capital Business Book Prize jury felt the shortlist this year has multiple stories of triumph and tragedy yet mostly reflects a new breed of confident, ambitious, and rising corporate India, Sabharwal added. Gaja Capital Business Book Prize was instituted two years ago to encourage Indian entrepreneurs, writers, and journalists to tell their stories for the world,
The award offers prize money of Rs. 15 lakh
The award offers prize money of Rs. 15 lakh, making it the "biggest book prize" in the country to honor authors transforming the business ecosystem with their creativity. 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 in 2020.
Business bookshelves are dominated by western stories: Gopal Jain
"Business bookshelves are dominated by western stories of business and entrepreneurship. As the Indian economy scales and the Indian entrepreneurial and investor ecosystem matures, we will have many more stories and lessons for the world, from India," said Gopal Jain, Managing Partner, Gaja Capital.
The 2021 winner will be announced on November 30
"As investors and entrepreneurs in the Indian market, we have witnessed several such journeys first-hand. We would like to make a small contribution in encouraging Indian writers, journalists, and entrepreneurs to tell our stories and tell them well, for the world," the Managing Partner added. The 2021 winner will be announced on November 30.
