“I believe in a minimalist state,” said Rao at Crossword bookstore, Kemps Corner, Mumbai. The former development division head of Citicorp, Rao is now Executive Chairman of Value Budget Housing Corporation, a company making affordable houses. “The idea of zero state is as scatterbrained and anarchic as a Stalinist state. But I can’t see either Congress or BJP bringing it about as they’re caught in their own warps,” the author, also known as Jerry Rao, said during an interaction at the book launch.

The event was followed by a panel discussion. The panellists talked about the dismal state of Indian politics with columnist Tavleen Singh calling for reforms not just in industry but also in education, agriculture and culture. Physician Dr Farokh Udwadia lamented the state of reforms in the health sector, which he said is known for its poor infrastructure and inadequate number of doctors. While Rao himself labelled his brand of conservatives as “old fogeys, killjoys, bores, simply not with it”, cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle summed up the author as “an intellectual who doesn’t imprison himself with his intellect”.

Talking about the education system, Bhogle said, “It doesn’t allow someone to mix engineering or management with literature, the way Jerry Rao has been able to do.” Bhogle also cited the condition of Indian hockey players: “In India, hockey has been mercilessly grounded to the dust and the players have to strike work for a hike. China is already better in hockey beacuse of the kind of funds they have put into it.”