India's Watershed Vote: What It Means for the Economy

One would expect the BJP’s landslide victory in India’s 2014 election to herald an equally sharp shift in the government’s positions across all dimensions of public policy, including economic policy. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, however, I argue that we will probably not see any discontinuity in economic policy during the new government’s first five-year term. At the same time, it is undeniable that a business-as-usual approach will not enable India to meet its societal goals or the challenge of finding productive employment for the twelve-million new people who enter the workforce each year. The sooner Prime Minister Narendra Modi spells out his vision and policy framework for India’s economy, the better able he will be to direct the country’s financial and human resources in the desired directions.