The book under review is a comprehen-sive picture of the developmental trajectory followed by the ICT industry in India. It underscores the historical role played by the state in promoting the industry. Primarily focusing on the institutions responsible for laying the foundation of IT, the author adopts a comparative institutional approach in this study. A wide range of public and semi-public institutions promoting scientific research and training have been covered.
The core argument of the book is that the political and administrative support has been crucial for the development of the IT industry in India. However, collaboration with private capital in promoting the industry has been considered equally beneficial. This clearly reflects the existence of embedded autonomy, as advanced by Peter Evans, in the case of the Indian IT industry.
While appreciating the institutional innovations of the government, the author also explains certain discrepancies inherent in the functioning of such institutions. For instance, the deterioration of quality research in the IITs has been pointed out.