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

Issue Date October 2014
Volume 25
Issue 4
Page Numbers 46-55
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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.

About the Author

Rajiv Kumar is senior fellow at the Center for Policy Research, a New Delhi–based public-policy think tank, and was recently appointed chancellor of the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics. Formerly the secretary-general of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and director of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, he currently serves on the Central Board of the State Bank of India. His most recent book Exploding Aspirations—Unlocking India’s Future (2014) is a collection of his columns from leading Indian dailies.

View all work by Rajiv Kumar