The Gaja Capital Business Book Prize 2023 has been jointly won by Against All Odds: The IT Story of India (Rs 799, Penguin) by Kris Gopalakrishnan, N Dayasindhu and Krishnan Narayanan, and Winning Middle India: The Story of India’s New-Age Entrepreneurs (Rs 599, Penguin) by TN Hari and Bala Srinivasa.

The Rs 15 lakh cash prize is awarded annually to authors of narrative non-fiction about Indian business and entrepreneurship.

This year’s jury includes veterans from business, academia and governance: Manish Sabharwal (chair), Imran Jafar, Arindam Bhattacharya, Lakshmi Venu, Sangita Reddy, Michael Queen, Neelkanth Mishra, Prithvi Haldea, Shailesh Haribhakti, and Upendra Kumar Sinha.

Against All Odds, the jury says, “meticulously weaves together the firsthand accounts of over fifty distinguished individuals who have indelibly shaped the landscape of the Indian IT industry.”

Winning Middle India, the jury says, “examines the exciting potential for enhancing the accessibility, affordability, and quality of products and services for millions of Indians. At its heart lies a new generation of startup founders who are capitalizing on technology platforms, the ubiquitous reach of smartphones, and the rapid digitization of the Indian consumer sphere.”

The shortlist, announced in October, included Essentially Mira: The Extraordinary Journey Behind Forest Essentials (Rs 699, HarperCollins) by Mira Kulkarni, and The Tech Phoenix: Satyam’s 100-Day Turnaround (Rs 395, Rupa) by TN Manoharan and V Pattabhi Ram. It also had Capture the Dream: The Many Lives of Cap CP Krishnan Nair (Rs 799, Juggernaut) by Bachi Karkaria.

In the longlist of 10 was Forging Mettle: Nrupender Rao and the Pennar Story (Rs 699, HarperCollins) by Pavan C Lall, and Forks in the Road: My Days at RBI and Beyond (Rs 699, Penguin) by C Rangarajan.

Also in the longlist: Limitless: The Power of Unlocking Your True Potential (Rs 399, Hachette) by Radhika Gupta, Tata’s Leadership Experiment: The Story of the Tata Administrative Service (Rs 699, HarperCollins) by Mukund Rajan, Sonu Bhasin and Bharat Wakhlu, and The Freedom Manifesto: 7 Rules to Live the Life of Your Calling by Karan Bajaj (Rs 399, HarperCollins).

Last year’s award was won by  National Rural Affairs and Agriculture Editor  for Broke to Breakthrough: The Rise of India’s Largest Private Dairy Company (Rs 699, Penguin).

Udbhav works with the features team at The Indian Express....