It appears, lately the western world is reconciling to three ideas. First life is one. In the name of specialisation, to take a sectarian view is not correct. So, now inter-disciplinary researches are increasingly becoming popular. Secondly, progress cannot start from zero. It must be linked to the past. Culture cannot be suddenly asked to go. Thirdly, materialism alone is not a satisfactory answer to happiness. Dr. S.S. Gupta has incorporated all the three aspects in the present work, which predominantly belongs to the discipline of economics. While defining Goal, he has talked of an all-round, integrated and balanced growth of life. He has called it Anand, i.e., permanent happiness. While dealing with Tools, he has tried to bank upon the traditional tools of family, family function and national festivals, mass media, etc. And while discussing Strategies, he has discussed along with economic strategy the supporting social and political strategies. His ideas of District States for maximum decentralisation of power and Samrasta for social rejuvenation are thought provoking. His suggestion to take up selected areas, instead of the whole country, for a planned integrated development and saturate it with resources in a period of time, say five years, and take it to the take-off stage within this period and then leave it to its fate, deserves serious attention. This is a readable book, full of challenging ideas.
