Back in 2004, former PM Dr Manmohan Singh, the key architect of economic liberalisation in the country, admitted that the 'Bombay Plan' had, had a profound impact on him as a student. "It encapsulated what subsequent plans tried to achieve," Singh had said of the economic document.

It wasn't just Singh, who seemed enthralled by it. When the Bombay Plan was published in 1944–45, it generated interest across the world - the American journal Foreign Affairs carried an extensive review by leading economist PS Lokanathan. The attention wasn't misplaced. It was not just the first-of-its-kind plan of economic development for new India, it was also co-authored by a distinguished lot of businessmen - JRD Tata, GD Birla, Purushottamdas Thakurdas, Kasturbhai Lalbhai, Ardeshir Dalal, Lala Shri Ram, John Mathai and AD Shroff, most of whom were from then Bombay, thus, giving it its name.