The government's financewatchdog- the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) - found the government had pickedfavourites and avoided open and competitive bidding which would have generatedfar more revenue for a cash-starved state. The CAG concluded that India hadlost ` 1.861akh crore (over $ 30 billion) in theprocess, all of which went to the private companies. It was the biggestrecorded seam in the history of India. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI),India's premier investigation agency, then filed an FIR against the top officerin the coal ministry-Secretary PC Parakh and industrialist Kumar MangalamBirla. Parakh had by then earned a fine reputation for ability and integrity inover three decades. as a civil servant. His stint as the top bureaucrat in thecoal ministry was his last posting in a sterling career. The FIR outraged thecivil services and corporate India and was widely condemned by theintelligentsia of the country. The book isn't just about the coal seam. It isalso about working with some of the biggest Indian politicians, starting withchief ministers of Andhra Pradesh. It is about life in the coal ministry withMamata Banerjee, Shibu Soren and Dr. Manmohan Singh, who was also the PrimeMinister. It is about the lessons learnt before Parakh met any of thesedignitaries. It is an account that startles with never-before revealed information. About the Author PC

    (Yuba City Poems).Groups of interlinked poems divided into six sections are peopled by many of the same characters and explore varying themes. Here, Divakaruni is particularly interested in how different art forms can influence and inspire each other. One section, entitled Indian Miniatures, is based on and named after a series of paintings by Francesco Clemente. Another, called Moving Pictures, is based on Indian films, including Mira Nair's "Salaam Bombay" and Satyajit Ray's "Ghare Baire." Photographs by Raghubir Singh inspired the section entitled Rajasthani. The trials and tribulations of growing up and immigration are also considered here and, as with all of Divakaruni's writing, these poems deal with the experience of women and their struggle to find identities for themselves.This collection is touched with the same magic and universal appeal that excited readers of "Arranged Marriage." In "Leaving Yuba City," Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni proves once again her remarkable literary talents.

    Historical novel that explodes all the myths that surround Mastani who was the second wife of Peshwa Baji Rao I in Central India in the 1700s.

    What led to this swing? Is it possible to trace the path to this point? Is there a way back to the just, secular, inclusive vision of our Constitution-makers?This country has long been an outlier in its South Asian neighbourhood, with its inclusive Constitution and functioning democracy. The growth of Hindutva, in some sense, brings India in line with the other polities here. In Our Hindu Rashtra, writer and activist Aakar Patel peels back layer after layer of cause and effect through independent India’s history to understand how Hindutva came to gain such a hold on the country. He examines what it means for India that its laws and judiciary have been permeated by prejudice and bigotry, what the breach of fundamental rights portends in these circumstances, and what the all-round institutional collapse signifies for the future of Indians.Most importantly, Patel asks and answers that most important of questions: what possibilities exist for a return? Thought-provoking and pulling no punches, this book is an essential read for anyone who wishes to understand the nature of politics in India and, indeed, South Asia.

    Okay, they do meet, but there are some complications. Trish is twenty-eight. She’s unemployed, overweight, single and snarky. She knows all that. And if one more person – just one more person – tries to fix her, she might explode. Sahil is thirty-five. He has superpowers. Well, kind of. He seems to think so, anyway. He’s also hot (okay, in a geeky kind of way, but still). And he plays the guitar, helps the underprivileged and talks about his feelings. Aren’t guys like that supposed to exist only in fantasies? When Trish and Sahil meet, magic happens. Real magic, you know, like fireworks, electricity, that sort of thing. But here’s the problem. Trish doesn’t want anyone in her life. She has enough to deal with – dependent parents, flaky neighbours, bitchy editors, the works. And yet, Sahil is determined to be in her life. From the bestselling author of Just Married, Please Excuse and Sorting Out Sid, here is another zinger of a book.

    "Joothan" refers to scraps of food left on a plate, destined for the garbage or animals. India's untouchables have been forced to accept and eat joothan for centuries, and the word encapsulates the pain, humiliation, and poverty of a community forced to live at the bottom of India's social pyramid.Although untouchability was abolished in 1949, Dalits continued to face discrimination, economic deprivation, violence, and ridicule. Valmiki shares his heroic struggle to survive a preordained life of perpetual physical and mental persecution and his transformation into a speaking subject under the influence of the great Dalit political leader, B. R. Ambedkar. A document of the long-silenced and long-denied sufferings of the Dalits, Joothan is a major contribution to the archives of Dalit history and a manifesto for the revolutionary transformation of society and human consciousness.

    These five women stalwarts are Rani of Jhansi, Rani of Kittur, Rani Abbakka, Sultana Razia and Kalpana Chawla.The book gives readers ample information on these five achievers and acquaints the readers with the history of brave Indian heroines. Rani of Jhansi was one of the leading figures of the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857.It brings out the individual achievements and qualities of each of these five women who contributed to India's growth at different points of time. for instance, Sultana Razia was the only woman ruler of the Mughal Period, whereas Kalpana Chawla was the first Indian woman to go into space.The 2008 edition of Brave Women of India Collection: 5 In 1 (Amar Chitra Katha) was published by Amar Chitra Katha Private Limited in 2009. It is available in hardcover.Key Features:This book figures of Indian History from the Rani of Jhansi to Kalpana Chawla.It is a five-in-one book where readers get to know about not just one but five pathbreaking women.

    Johnny is trying to organize the remaining members of his displaced tribe; at the same time he contemplates leaving his grandmother's home for the big city. As the novel shifts perspective, tracing the controversial history of the tribe, we learn how the tragic events of Elba's childhood, as well as Iris's attempts to separate herself from her cultural roots, make Johnny's dilemma all the more difficult. Gritty yet rich in detail and emotion, Watermelon Nights stands beside the novels of Louise Erdrich, Michael Dorris, and Sherman Alexie as an important work not only in Native American literature, but in contemporary American fiction.

    His collection brings together the best of Kalki’s short stories, which contain some of his most colourful and enduring characters and themes of Tamil popular fiction of the nineteen thirties and forties. There is in these stories the heady urgency of the freedom struggle, the piquant humour of the parodied Tamil gothic and devastating social satire. In her sensitive translations, Gowri Ramnarayan has succeeded in capturing the nuances of the gently mordant wit that made Kalki’s stories the highlight of the magazines they were originally published in, creating for themselves a dedicated following that flourishes undiminished to this day.Coinciding with the centenary of Kalki’s birth, this volume is a well-deserved tribute to a writer whose breadth of vision and genius imagined and served a new India.

    Prabhat Prakashan has a glorious history of fifty years of publishing quality books on almost all streams of literature, viz. children books, fiction, science, quiz, humanities, personality development, health, dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc. For the last fifteen years, Prabhat Prakashan has been continuously winning accolades for excellence in book publication.

    In Tharoorosaurus, he shares fifty-three examples from his vocabulary: unusual words from every letter of the alphabet. You don't have to be a linguaphile to enjoy the fun facts and interesting anecdotes behind the words! Be ready to impress-and say goodbye to your hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia!

    Fighter, thief, black marketeer, courageous leader, quiet dreamer...and a lyrical lover of women. Across China's most merciless land, aswarm with warlords, cut-throats, Japanese deserters, whores and nomads...Jake Dodds is running for his life!

    Even in this nondescript settlement, people receive money via mobile transfer from family members working in distant cities. There are computer training centres offering diploma courses in Bhojpuri, Hindi and English. Here is an example of India's numerous remote towns that have skipped the stage of basic learning and landed straight into digital literacy as they strive to keep up with the times.In his last book, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, writing with Srijan Pal Singh, draws upon examples ranging from entrepreneurship in places like Badshahpur to a sophisticated missile programme like Agni to show how it can be 'Advantage India' in the final lap of the journey to 2020--the landmark year by which he had envisioned the country could transform into an economic power. How can the new initiatives--such as Make in India, Swachh Bharat, smart cities and skill development for the youth--be used to unleash the country's vast potential?Advantage India offers the answer--a movement driven by every home and school to educate the new generation and give a fresh meaning to citizenship.

    An absorbing tale of love shadowed by death, the spoken and unspoken distances between a mother and daughter, and the indescribable closeness.

    And, with all due respect, sir, who the hell are you?'When a body mysteriously appears at the bottom of the otherwise serene hills of Sonargam in peak tourist season, Superintendent of Police, Shimla, Niki Marwah, and her crack team of investigators must act quickly to find out how Rak Mehta, the hotshot President & CEO of a super-successful publishing company, landed there.As they scour the grounds of the luxurious Lotus Resort, where Indigo's employees have checked in for their annual conference, the police team uncovers bitter rivalries, secret grudges and vicious lies – not to mention the victim's own sordid past that has made him more enemies than friends.Lipstick stains, condoms, a notebook full of rambling code; bribery, mind games, broken promises - everything points to murder. And, with the list of suspects growing, it will take all of Niki’s ingenuity and skill to catch the killer before Sonargam's idyllic landscape is disrupted once again...