Sanjaya Baru | |
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Media Advisor to the Prime Minister of India | |
In office May 2004 – August 2008 | |
Secretary General of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry | |
In office 1 September 2017 – 17 April 2018 | |
Preceded by | Alwyn Didar Singh |
Succeeded by | Dilip Chenoy |
Editor of Business Standard | |
In office 2010–2011 | |
Preceded by | T.N Ninan |
Succeeded by | Ashok K Bhattacharya |
Personal details | |
Parent |
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Education | Jawaharlal Nehru University |
Sanjaya Baru is a political commentator and policy analyst. He served as Secretary General of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) until his resignation in April 2018.[1] Prior to this, he was Director for Geo-Economics and Strategy at the International Institute of Strategic Studies.[2] He was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's media advisor and chief spokesperson (PMO) from May 2004 until August 2008.[3] He has also served as associate editor at The Economic Times and The Times of India, and then chief editor at Business Standard. Baru writes a column for Civil Society Magazine called Delhi Darbar.[4] His father B. P. R Vithal was Finance and Planning Secretary during Dr. Manmohan Singh's tenure as Secretary of Finance in the Government of India.[5][6]
Main article: The Accidental Prime Minister |
In April 2014, Penguin India published The Accidental Prime Minister, Baru's tell-all memoir about his time at the Prime Minister's Office. In it, Baru alleges that the prime minister was completely subservient to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who wielded significant influence in the running of the Singh administration, including the PMO itself. The book sparked off a controversy, with the office officially denouncing it as "fiction".[7] Baru has said that he set out to show an empathetic portrait of the prime minister.[8]
Based on Baru's book The Accidental Prime Minister Rudra Production Limited and Pen Studios released a film of the same name in January 2019 in which he has been portrayed by Akshaye Khanna.[9]