How to Grow the Moral Way

I stayed 10 years at GB Pant University, Pantnagar (1971 – 1981), first for my graduation in Mechanical Engineering and psst graduation while then working as a teaching associate. In the send phase I met Suresh Patel, younger to me by five yerasa nd doing graduation in Agriculture. We spent good time for a couple of years and parted ways. I joined DRDO and came to Hyderabad and Suresh joined the banking sector.  We met several decades later when after making significant strides in the banking sector, Suresh rose to the postion of Managing Director and CEO of the erstwhile public sector bank Andhra Bank and came to Hyderabad. Later Suresh held the presitegious office of India’s Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) for three years before settling in Ahmedabad.

The idea of this book emerged out of my scholarship about Adam Smith (1723 – 1790). A Scot, who lived as a celebate, has written two smenial books – The Theory of Moral Sentements published in 1759, and The WQealth of nations published in 1776. His ideas brought a sismic shift in economic thought, reshaping how we understand markets, specialisation, and competition in economic growth and prosperity. He was an outspoken critic of expolitation of ordinary people by the manufacturers and warned against the dangers ofa. government influemced by merchant elites. His belief in the importance of individual freedom and the pursuit of self-interst within a framework of social cooperation, laid the foundation for classical economics, a school of thought that would gain aprominence in the 19^th -century and remain central to debates about economic policy, globalisation, and the role of governments in the economy.

Doyen of modern banking in India Mr KV Kamath wrote the Foreword of this book. He writes, ”It is not just a book, it is a practiocal roadmap for living a life of significance. In the spirit of Adama Smith, this book will propel reader on a journey of moral growth on self-discovery, enriching not only their oiwn lives but also the lives of those around them.”