No, Minister (Paperback)

A former top bureaucrat reveals how India manages its money, and the political landmines he navigated to protect public interest For over three decades, Subhash Chandra Garg was at the heart of India’s bureaucratic battlefield – crafting policies, managing crises and manoeuvring through the power struggles that define governance. From the villages of Rajasthan where land disputes could spark violent protests, to the corridors of power in Delhi where economic decisions could make or break the nation, Garg’s career as a civil servant was anything but ordinary. As Finance Secretary of India, he played a pivotal role in reshaping India’s economic policies, battling entrenched interests and pulling states back from financial ruin. He confronted corruption head-on, took on international financial institutions and steered high-stakes negotiations that impacted millions. Unflinching and deeply revealing, No, Minister is more than a memoir – it is a front-row seat to the raw, often brutal realities of navigating the world of Indian bureaucracy. Power, politics and policy collide in this gripping account of a career spent at the helm of India’s economic and administrative landscape

Subhash Chandra Garg, former finance secretary, Government of India, and India’s executive director in the World Bank (2014–2017), joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1983. Borne on the Rajasthan cadre, he served in the IAS for more than 36 years, before taking voluntary retirement on 31 October 2019. Garg’s books include The $10 Trillion Dream (2022), We Also Make Policy (2023) and The $10 Trillion Dream Dented (2024).He started publishing a comprehensive and insightful annual book on India’s budgets in March 2023. Garg comments on public policy issues by writing opinion pieces in The Quint, Deccan Herald and other publications. He is seen frequently on TV and OTT channels, commenting on economic, financial and budgetary issues. He also consults and arbitrates.