• Commentary
  • Research
  • Experts
  • Events
Carnegie China logoCarnegie lettermark logo
{
  "authors": [
    "Milan Vaishnav"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "SAP",
  "programs": [
    "South Asia"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "South Asia",
    "India"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Economy"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

In The Media

Modi: One Year On

Narendra Modi’s number one priority is the economy. But while he deserves some credit for improving India’s macroeconomic performance, he has been slow to enact bold reforms that could improve the business climate and the functioning of government.

Link Copied
By Milan Vaishnav
Published on May 2, 2015

Source: Monocle

As Narendra Modi completes a year in office, Monocle’s Steve Bloomfield is joined by Milan Vaishnav and Shashank Bengali to discuss where the world’s largest democracy is today.

Vaishnav begins by saying that Modi’s number one priority is the economy, and that he deserves some credit for improving India’s macroeconomic performance. However, he has been slow to enact bold reforms that could improve the business climate and the functioning of government. Vaishnav also notes that Modi has avoided addressing hot-button social issues himself, yet he has declined to condemn& inflammatory comments from his allies in the BJP and RSS.

This interview was originally broadcast by Monocle.

About the Author

Milan Vaishnav

Director and Senior Fellow, South Asia Program

Milan Vaishnav is a senior fellow and director of the South Asia Program and the host of the Grand Tamasha podcast at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. His primary research focus is the political economy of India, and he examines issues such as corruption and governance, state capacity, distributive politics, and electoral behavior. He also conducts research on the Indian diaspora.

    Recent Work

  • Research
    India and a Changing Global Order: Foreign Policy in the Trump 2.0 Era
      • Sameer Lalwani
      • +6

      Milan Vaishnav, Sameer Lalwani, Tanvi Madan, …

  • Commentary
    Indian Americans Still Lean Left. Just Not as Reliably.
      • +1

      Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur, Andy Robaina, …

Milan Vaishnav
Director and Senior Fellow, South Asia Program
Milan Vaishnav
EconomySouth AsiaIndia

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie China

  • Xi walking into a room with people standing and applauding around him
    Commentary
    Emissary
    The Xi Doctrine Zeros in on “High-Quality Development” for China’s Economic Future

    In the latest Five-Year Plan, the Chinese president cements the shift to an innovation-driven economy over a consumption-driven one.

      • Damien Ma

      Damien Ma

  • Commentary
    How China’s Growth Model Determines Its Climate Performance

    Rather than climate ambitions, compatibility with investment and exports is why China supports both green and high-emission technologies.

      Mathias Larsen

  • Overproduction in China
    Commentary
    What’s New about Involution?

    “Involution” is a new word for an old problem, and without a very different set of policies to rein it in, it is a problem that is likely to persist.

      Michael Pettis

  • Commentary
    The Chinese Investment Riddle: What Cities Reveal

    While China's investment story seems contradictory from the outside, the real answers to Beijing's high-quality growth ambitions are hiding in plain sight across the nation's cities.

      Yuhan Zhang

  • Commentary
    Using China’s Central Government Balance Sheet to “Clean up” Local Government Debt Is a Bad Idea

    China's stimulus addiction cannot go on forever. Beijing still has policy space to clean up the country's massive debt issue, but time is running short.

      Michael Pettis

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie China
Carnegie China logo, white
Keck Seng Tower133 Cecil Street #10-01ASingapore, 069535Phone: +65 9650 7648
  • Research
  • About
  • Experts
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie China
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.