A Look Into A Corporate Leader's Journey Through India's Skill Development In 'The Day The Chariot Moved'

I first encountered Subroto Bagchi's writings when he was the Chair of the Odisha Skill Development Authority at one of Odisha's massive skill development fairs, held at Janata Maidan, Bhubaneswar, where thousands of young people displayed their newly acquired skills amid the pomp and pageantry of the government's ostensible achievements.

What an experience - the organised chaos of sewing machines whirring with motion, delicious smells of food being prepared, impassioned young people explaining their craft to important visitors; it was massive. But underneath all of the theatrics were questions that crystallised only after I read "The Day The Chariot Moved". Was the work a legitimate transformation, or was it simply organised theatre?

Bagchi's memoir from his eight years as Chairman of the Odisha Skill Development Authority provides an honest glimpse into what happens when corporate sensibilities collide with governmental machinery. The memoir serves as both institutional record-keeping and personal memoir, and is one of the few books that offers insight into the feasibility of policy reform. While the memoir does not eliminate the impact of diplomatic restraint, it provides a thorough examination of India's efforts in skill development, not just in Odisha.

The Corporate Executive Meets Government: Process and Transformation

Bagchi provides the book's most interesting framework through his movement from the boardroom to the corridors of government. His experience in business provides him with a different vantage point to consider the processes of government, drawing attention to many inefficiencies that a career bureaucrat might overlook as part of the operating environment.

At times, the memoir sections are enlivened by anecdotes that illustrate an abstract policy initiative taken literally: encounters with rural youth seeking training in technical skills, or navigating the complex relationships between departments and the financing process through the Finance Department.

The author's systematic approach to thinking about institutional reform demonstrates how ideas rooted in the private sector can be applied to address the challenges of the public sector. His accounts of putting together monitoring systems, developing and implementing standardised courses of study and seeking sustainable funding arrangements reveal a systematic mind with some discomfort navigating the complexity of government.

As he notes: "The stereotype of a subordinate and sometimes efficient young woman who paid particular attention to her appearance. The typewriter and the shorthand positions have died a long time ago, but in ITI Cuttack, they still ran a course in stenography."

Policy in Practice: The Odisha Experiment

This book's greatest contribution is its methodical description of how the "Skilled In Odisha" brand was conceived, constructed, and delivered across the state. Bagchi's descriptions of a wide range of skill development programs—encompassing everything from traditional craftspeople to modern technology training—offer a comprehensive and nuanced account of sectoral evolution during Bagchi's tenure.

He successfully documents the dynamics involved when negotiating partnerships with private sector organisations, building curricula, and devising assessments, which contain some insights to take away, even beyond the context in which they are described.
 
Nonetheless, even with Bagchi's and the book's benign, diplomatic tone, some of the more contentious aspects of the discourse about skill development are not always clear. Bagchi's analysis, while extensive in describing processes and outcomes, rarely asks whether the fundamental assumptions we are working with require more radical consideration. This text's emphasis on institutional arrangements over critical reflection may reflect the author's role as a cabinet-level member of the executive office, which has complicated stakeholder expectations.

Grassroots Impact: Success Stories and Structural Limitations

The subtitle promises stories of "how India grows at the grassroots," and Bagchi gives us gripping individual stories of change. Bagchi's descriptions of young people acquiring skills that they can market, women gaining financial independence, and communities seeing real progress are the human element that makes this more than a catalogue of policy initiatives. The book includes specific case studies of training programmes and their beneficiaries, detailing all aspects of how these programs unfold, including some of the dilemmas involved in implementing them.

The book overlooks broader structural contexts in which these activities are situated. While Bagchi presents evidence of sectoral growth and increased professionalisation, he seldom poses the question of whether the form of growth means that there have been improved social outcomes or something more subtle - the improved reproduction of the status quo.

Technology Meets Tradition

Bagchi's chariot has definitely moved, ushering good into the lives of thousands who have been permanently improved. The question that remains is whether this movement truly represented a step toward an equitable society or simply a more efficient iteration of the same social hierarchies.

As far as it goes, this book does not provide answers, although incrementalism can be frustrating; however, it does provide a record of the process and those fleeting glimmers of possibility that can be transformational. For readers concerned about understanding how policy actually works and how it must balance aspiration and implementation, Bagchi's memoir offers some insights into how it all comes together. It is at once a record of what is possible within current systems and a counterfactual appreciation of the limits of such systems.