The Gaja Capital Business Book Prize was instituted in 2019, to encourage Indian entrepreneurs, writers, and journalists to tell their stories to the world.
India is at the cusp of a once in a generation opportunity to leverage its demographic dividend, strengths in chemistry and health sciences, technology, and a high growth consumer market to create tremendous business value and innovation for the world. Over the next few decades, Indian entrepreneurship and business models should be written about, critiqued, celebrated, and improved to create a vibrant business ecosystem, that is built to last. We hope that these awards encourage young entrepreneurs to read and learn from the experience of others and for writers, journalists and entrepreneurs to share their stories and create a body of knowledge for others to leverage and build upon.
The Gaja Capital Business Book Prize 2023 was jointly awarded to ‘Against All Odds: The IT Story of India’ and ‘Winning Middle India: The Story of India’s New-Age Entrepreneurs’ by esteemed authors Kris Gopalakrishnan, N. Dayasindhu, Krishnan Narayanan, and T.N. Hari and Bala Srinivasa. While “Against All Odds” chronicles the trials, triumphs, and history of the Indian IT sector, “Winning Middle India” provides a detailed account of the new generation of startup founders who are catalysts for the transformation of the next 40-50 Crore Indian consumers.
Jury Chairman
Manish is a successful serial entrepreneur, currently co-founder and chairman of TeamLease Services. Manish also currently serves as an Independent Director on the Board of the RBI, as member of the Central Advisory Board on Education in the HRD Ministry and Member of Advisory Board of Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
Imran is a founding member of the Gaja Capital team and has over 22 years of experience in private equity, pharmaceuticals, and technology services. Imran has co-led investments in the education and consumer clusters. He holds an MBA from IIM Bangalore and a master’s degree in software engineering from
BITS-Pilani.
Aarthi Subramanian is the Group Chief Digital Officer at Tata Sons Limited. A professional with over 28 years of experience in the global technology sector, Ms Subramanian started her career with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and worked in diverse roles in India, Sweden, the US, and Canada, thereby gaining rich experience in consulting engagements and management of large-scale technology programs as well as operations. She serves on the board of several Tata Companies and is a member of the Gartner Research Board and Microsoft Executive Services Executive Board.
Arindam Bhattacharya is an Independent Director of several public companies, advisory board member of not-for-profits and academic institutes, angel investor in and mentor to start-ups. Until recently, Arindam was the Managing Director and Senior Partner in the India office of Boston Consulting Group. He currently serves as an Independent Director on boards of Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Holdings and Investments Ltd, Bajaj Housing Finance Ltd, InfoEdge Ltd., and Lemon Tree Hotels.
Dr. Lakshmi Venu is the Joint MD of Sundaram-Clayton Ltd (SCL), which forms part of the $8.5 billion TVS Group. She is also the Deputy MD of TAFE Motors and Tractors Limited. Dr. Venu’s focus at SCL has been to create a sustainable foundation for the companies’ future growth and to create flexible and agile companies for a VUCA world.
Dr. Sangita Reddy is a global healthcare influencer, healthcare technocrat, social entrepreneur, and humanitarian. She is currently the Joint Managing Director of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited and has been a recipient of numerous prestigious awards for business and leadership in the healthcare industry. She is currently the Chair of G20 Empower and is a director of 16 companies in India dealing in Healthcare, Alternate Energy, Real Estate, and Software Development.
Neelkanth Mishra is currently the Chief Economist, Head of Global Research, and member of the Board in Axis Capital. Until recently, he was the Co-Head of Equity Strategy, APAC and India Equity Strategist, and Securities Research, at Credit Suisse. He is part of the Advisory Council to India’s 15th Finance Commission and has been an advisor to government committees such as the Revenue Neutral Rate Committee on GST and the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Review Committee.
Prithvi is a member of several capital market related committees of SEBI and has served as a member of the Indian finance minister’s high level expert committee on corporate bonds and securitization. Prithvi has worked as a consultant for the World Bank and U.S. Department of Commerce. In 1989, he set up Prime Database, India’s first and largest repository for all primary capital market offerings.
Shailesh Haribhakti is an experienced accountant and an independent board member of several leading Indian companies. He is also the Chairman of DHC (Desai Haribhakti) one of India’s leading accountancy and advisory firms. He is actively involved with several prominent financial institutions in India, including the NSE, CII, IMC and ASSOCHAM.
Upendra Kumar Sinha headed the RBI Expert Committee on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). He was the Chairman of the SEBI, having served two consecutive three-year terms, starting in 2011. He was also the Chairman and Managing Director of UTI Mutual Fund. He was selected for the Indian Administrative Services (IAS)
in 1976.