Ashok Bhattacharya

Background

About Ashok Bhattacharya

Experienced economic journalist with knowledge of working in the newspapers industry for more than four decades. He set the bar for business reporting as the chief of bureau at the Economic Times in the early 1990s, when economic reforms raged. He had a ringside view to many other disruptions, creative and otherwise, during his four decades in journalism, a journey that started when he switched careers after a year of teaching. He then went on to become the editor of the Pioneer and Business Standard. He is now Business Standard's editorial director and a writer of a long-running column - Raisina Hill. A newsperson to the core, he wrote a book on India's disruptions, published by Penguin in July 2019 - The Rise of Goliath: Twelve Disruptions That Changed India. His second book - India’s Finance Ministers: From Independence to Emergency (1947-1977)- was published by Penguin in May 2023, which captured the story of Union finance ministers in the first 30 years after Independence. The second volume in this series - India's Finance Ministers: Stumbling into Reforms (1977-1998)- covering a period of 21 years, was published by Penguin in January 2024. The third volume in this series - India’s Finance Ministers: Different Strokes (1998-2014)- covering a period of 16 years, was published by Penguin in March 2025.