Electrifying India

Sunila Kale is an Assistant Professor at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington.

"[Electrifying India] is thoroughly researched and does a fine job of demonstrating why the task of electrifying India remains an unfinished business . . . Highly recommended."—A. A. Batabyal, CHOICE "Electrifying India presents new research findings that make a significant contribution to current literature. The argument is novel and important. It addresses literature of specific relevance to India, and to the politics of development in particular, but it also speaks to larger questions related to the role of historical trajectories in explaining the ability of governments to adjust to market-oriented economic policy regimes."—Rob Jenkins, Professor of Political Science, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York "Why does the power go on and then off again in so much of India? Sunila Kale's book shows why the states that embraced electrification in the 1950s and 1960s, prodded by their farmers, are laggards today, and why the 'late developers' have embraced changes in the power market that are now transforming India."—Steven Wilkinson, Nilekani Professor of India and South Asian Studies, Yale University "As any practitioner will tell you, the Indian electricity sector is heavily shaped, and impeded, by complex politics and flawed institutions. It is surprising, then, that there is such a paucity of quality work on the politics of Indian electricity. Sunila Kale's important new book, Electrifying India, goes a long way to filling this vacuum. Drawing together material from the historical record, central policy-processes, and a detailed examination of the track record in three states, Kale weaves a compelling and nuanced narrative on the past and present of Indian electricity, with important lessons for its future."—Navroz K. Dubash, Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, India "This clearly and engagingly written book adds substantially to our understanding of the process of economic reform in India—and to the comparative analysis of political regimes across Indian states. It should be of great interest to researchers and students of comparative politics and political economy."—John Harriss, Professor of International Studies, Simon Fraser University