Inducting businessmen into governance is an experiment that has gone awry twice in the past. But that hasn't deterred Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
Most Indians have heard of T.T. Krishnamachari, who founded Chennai-based TTK Group way back in 1928. He was one among three key businessmen — the other two being R.K. Shanmukham Chetty and John Mathai — that Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru relied on. Sam Pitroda, a successful technologist in the US whom Indira Gandhi had invited to India to start up C-DoT, became Rajiv’s technology advisor. Shortly after Rajiv’s government was voted out in 1989, Pitroda had to face a CAG audit. Clearly, much has changed since then. Political stability is no longer an issue in Manmohan Singh’s second term. That is why many reckon Singh’s plan to induct senior business leaders into his government is well-timed.
(This story appears in the 04 June, 2010 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)