Arun Shourie

Privatization

Developing Economies

Democracy Reforms in India 

A former Union Minister of the Government of India, Dr. Arun Shourie is presently a sitting member of the Upper House of the Indian Parliament (Rajya Sabha).

Dr. Shourie served as an economist with the World Bank between 1967 and 1978, and as a consultant to the Indian Planning Commission from 1972 to 1974. He was also the Editor of The Indian Express.

One of India’s most renowned and uncompromising journalists, Dr. Shourie is well known for introducing a new style of aggressive, independent investigative journalism to India. He has uncovered many scandals and corruption in the Indian political scene, including what has been dubbed as the ‘India Watergate’. Among the many battles Dr. Shourie fought for press freedom, perhaps the most famous was his crusade against the government’s proposal in 1988 to introduce a defamation bill. It was widely believed that the bill had been introduced with unusual speed in Parliament in an attempt to muzzle the Indian Express, and the entire media community joined Dr. Shourie and the Indian Express in condemning the move.

Dr. Shourie’s involvement in politics has led to significant contributions in shaping the country’s policies and procedures. From 1999–2004, Dr. Shourie held several significant ministerial portfolios. As the Minister of Disinvestment, he undertook the difficult task of privatizing a number of public sector companies and is well known as the privatization czar of India. The procedures developed by him for disinvestment are now being emulated in other parts of the world. As Minister of Communications and Information Technology, he implemented policies that helped the telecommunication industry in India grow rapidly and quadrupled the use of cellular phones.