My review of the book 'Portraits of Power: Half a century of being at ringside'

 Title: PORTRAITS OF POWER: Half a century of being at Ringside

Author: Shri N.K. Singh

Publisher: Rupa Publications India Pvt. Ltd.

Year of publication: 2020

Price: Rs 595

ISBN: 978-93-5333-775-9

 

 

This book ‘PORTRAITS OF POWER: Half a century of being at Ringside’ has been written and published in the year 2020 by Shri Nand Kishore Singh (N.K Singh). He is a well-renowned bureaucrat as well as politician, most recently known for his stint as the Chairman of the Fifteenth Finance Commission. 

 

N.K Singh was born in Kolkata and spent most of his childhood at his maternal grandfather’s place in Bihar, who was one of the richest and most celebrated Zamindars of North Bihar and had been a member of Bihar legislative council for many years. He pursued his education in Economics from St Stephens college, Delhi and then post-graduation from the Delhi School of Economics (DSE). Following the footprints of his father, an ICS officer, he chose to become a civil servant and got into the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1964. His Mother, Madhuri Singh, had been member of the Lok Sabha from Purnea constituency twice. He had five siblings-four sisters and a brother. Two of his younger sisters were also in the IAS. His wife, Prem Kumari, was from the royal family of Jodhpur, and daughter of Maharaj Hari Singh. 

 

Given that his father, who was a member of the ICS, as well as many of his eminent contemporaries in bureaucracy did not leave behind their footprints, the Author decided to choose otherwise. He wanted to pen down his experiences, thoughts and a chronicle of events that he witnessed or participated in. He wished to leave behind his footprints in the form of this account enriched with anecdotes, comments, observations molded with wit and humor, for future generations to remember. He chose the title of the book “Portraits of Power” to represent his views on the amalgam of politics and economics that has shaped India as well as talk about policymakers, individuals and others in vantage positions. In doing so, mostly, he has viewed past with a sense of optimism and generosity in judging people’s conduct.  

 

With a very brief stint as an IAS officer in Bihar, he makes his Delhi debut early on as Undersecretary in the Ministry of Commerce. Right from winning the confidence of his mentor through crafting impressive drafts and speeches, he details how trade control used to be the mood of the time and that, though need for change was felt, actual change was slow to come. His next exciting and longish assignment takes him to Indian Embassy in Japan where he happens to earn long lasting friendships and cultivate interests in finer things like classical music, calligraphy etc. Along the way comes interesting anecdotes and stories about how Maruti-Suzuki transaction took place. Again, he returns to Delhi and works on the expansion of the paramilitary forces at a crucial time when India was facing internal security challenges during 1990s. He goes on to work in Ministry of Finance when the BOP crisis was enveloping the sphere and India was carving its path towards the new growth trajectory. He adds to the debate of ‘whether the IMF-World Bank reform package was imposed upon us’ and opines that “In a certain sense, it can be argued that the Letters of Intent were the articulation of our own programmes and policy measures and not an imposition (Singh, 2020)”.

 

His stint as Secretary to the PM has been close to his heart as he admires PM Vajpayee saying “while he consolidated his supporters, he constantly sought to turn his rivals into friends! (Singh, 2020)”. His next endeavor comes as the member of the Planning commission wherein he says that efforts to restructure this institution were attempted, though with little success. His moral debt towards his home state again calls him to Bihar as the deputy chairman of Bihar state planning board where along with many initiatives, he started the tradition of preparing the Annual Economic Survey, which continues till date. He also created the Bihar Development and Investment Promotion Council in an attempt to give fillip to investment, though it met with limited success. Next, he finds himself in ‘the temple of democracy’ i.e., Parliament. He was elected as a Rajya Sabha MP in 2008. He goes on to talk about several of his political contemporaries whom he met in the Parliament, indeed giving a glimpse to the reader of the power corridors. He creatively narrates his endeavors with the several bills and his meritorious comments on them. With great zeal, he describes his stints as member of Public Accounts Committee and also suggest several ways to reform parliamentary proceedings.

 

N.K Singh has truly been in the forefront of policy making, given his varied assignments. He has immensely contributed to the country and society at large by way of his illustrious bureaucratic career as well as the brief political career. He was appointed the first chairperson of Global Environment Facility given his active interest in the negotiations. As expenditure secretary, he happened to chair the Public Investment Board and took various reform measures to simplify and rationalize public expenditure. As secretary to the Prime Minister, he worked on the Golden Quadrilateral project and chaired numerous committees in varied sectors, some of the recommendations of which, also resulted in fruition. Given his vast experience, in 2016, he chaired a committee to review the FRBM Act. Also, he is the chairman of the Fifteenth Finance Commission who has successfully attempted to strike a balance between interests of several states simultaneously. Given his invaluable experience, he continues to put his views on more contemporary challenges like COVID Pandemic and rising protectionism wave around the world. 

This book has been written in a very structured manner and the different chapters of the book are in symmetry with his career path. However, the initial chapters of the book illustrating his elite roots appear to give too grand an impression of a public servant. The text appears to inform the reader of his illustrious journey in the form of a story filled with several facts as well as interesting anecdotes, though the book does feel dry at times. The author chooses very sophisticated words and the overall tone is very respectful. The narration of anecdotes is mostly very descriptive, detailing the nuances that cannot go unnoticed. Hence, it instills a sense of awe into the minds of the reader, given his proximity to the power corridors, gala dinners and international assignments. 

 

This book is a must-read book particularly for those who are interested in connecting the dots of economic history of India. It is one of those rare books that talks about the details of commanding heights of the economy, makes the reader walk through the 1991 economic reforms and subsequently, to the current challenges emanating due to economic slowdown and exaggerated by the COVID 19 pandemic. It impresses the reader through more ways than one. In most cases, the author also pens down some pragmatic solutions for the reader to ponder upon. It presents the micro picture as well as gives a bird’s eye view of the Indian economy and to some extent polity too. It is the fifty years of public life experience coupled with creative narration of the politico-economic amalgamation which makes it a worthwhile read!