Indian Icon: A Cult Called Royal Enfield announced as the winner of the Gaja Capital Business Book Prize 2021
Mumbai, 30th November, 2021. Indian Icon: A Cult Called Royal Enfield, a riveting story of the creation of a powerful Indian brand going global, has been announced as the winner of the Gaja Capital Business Book Prize 2021.
The winner was selected from an eclectic and compelling shortlist of five books, showcasing the vibrant Indian business ecosystem. Established in 2019 by Gaja Capital, a leading private equity firm, the Gaja Capital Business Book Prize is one of the leading initiatives connecting the world of business and writing. With a purse of INR 15 Lakh for the winner, it is the biggest business book prize in the country to honour authors and their chronicles celebrating the spirit of entrepreneurship in India.
While announcing the winner virtually this year, Gopal Jain, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Gaja Capital, said, “The 2021 shortlist covered a wide spectrum of themes, including public policy, entrepreneurship, ethics, and philanthropy. The titles were well researched, brilliantly articulated, and gripping reads, and the jury had a wonderful time poring over them. After spending long hours deliberating over and debating the books, the jury came to a unanimous decision of awarding Amrit Raj and his book, “Indian Icon: A Cult called Royal Enfield” as the winner of the Gaja Book Prize 2021. Indian Icon is a fast-paced, engaging, and well-researched title, and Amrit has been spot-on in his analysis of how a rare global brand from India was built, unbiased in his criticism and balanced in his praise. On behalf of the jury and Gaja Capital, we congratulate Amrit on a well-deserved victory.”
The jury for the third edition comprised stalwarts from the worlds of industry, investments, academia, public policy, and governance including: Manish Sabharwal, Chairman Teamlease (Chairman, Jury), Imran Jafar, Managing Partner & co-founder- Gaja Capital, Dr. Lakshmi Venu, MD of Sundaram-Clayton Ltd (SCL), Michael Queen, Former Chief Executive of 3i (British Multinational PE fund), Narayan Ramachandran, Former country head, Morgan Stanley India, Prithvi Haldea, Founder Chairman of Praxis Consulting (Prime Database), Neelkanth Mishra, Managing Director and Head of Equity Strategy, Asia Pacific for Credit Suisse, Prithvi Haldea, member of several capital market related committees of SEBI, Shailesh Haribhakti, Founder and Managing Partner of Shailesh Haribhakti & Associates Chartered Accountants, Upendra Kumar Sinha, Former Head, RBI Expert Committee on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
The 2021 shortlist consisted of a diverse range of stories of enterprises and their protagonists including:
- The remarkable story of a titan: Azim Premji: The Man Beyond the Billions (by Sundeep Khanna and Varun Sood)
- The rise and fall of a financial superstar: Yes Man: The Untold Story of Rana Kapoor (by Pavan Lall)
- The making of a global Indian brand: Indian Icon: A Cult Called Royal Enfield (by Amrit Raj)
- An agenda for the Indian banking system: Overdraft: Saving the Indian Saver (by Urjit Patel)
- The story of a rare manufacturing success at scale: Getting Competitive: A Practitioner’s Guide for India (by R.C. Bhargava)
