Twenty years ago, bankrupt India went cap in hand to the IMF to borrow $5bn (£3bn). Now, it's the second fastest growing economy in the world - beaten only by China.
But who have been the winners and losers in India's boom years? Critics say the poor have lost out - and that economic growth is being fuelled through environmental destruction and mass rural displacement.
Aditya Chakrabortty speaks to Booker prize-winning novelist Arundhati Roy about her new book, Broken Republic, an account of her time spent with Maoist soldiers who are resisting the incursion of the Indian government and mining companies onto their land.
Joining them in the studio is Siddhartha Deb, a journalist and author who takes a harsh look at modern India in his latest book, The Beautiful and the Damned.
And our former man in Delhi, Randeep Ramesh, now the Guardian's social affairs editor, adds his reflections on Indian society today.
