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The View From New Delhi: A Conversation With Indian MPs

Tue. September 13th, 2016
Washington, DC

In early August, both houses of India’s parliament overwhelmingly passed a landmark Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill that will bring India closer to a common market than ever before. This milestone comes as the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi approaches the end of the first half of its term, and elections in India’s largest state, Uttar Pradesh, loom in early 2017.

To take stock of the current state of India’s politics, economics, and foreign policy, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace—in collaboration with the Georgetown University India Initiative and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)—hosted a wide-ranging discussion with three leading members of Parliament from across the political spectrum. Carnegie’s Milan Vaishnav moderated. The delegation’s visit was part of FICCI’s annual India-U.S. Forum of Parliamentarians, which aims to deepen the engagement between lawmakers of both countries.

Sushmita Dev

Sushmita Dev is a first-term Lok Sabha member of parliament from the Indian National Congress, representing the Silchar constituency in Assam. She was previously a member of Assam state assembly.

Baijayant “Jay” Panda

Baijayant “Jay” Panda is a two-term Lok Sabha member of parliament from the Biju Janata Dal, representing the Kendrapara constituency in Odisha. He was previously a member of the Rajya Sabha.

Anurag Thakur

Anurag Thakur is a three-term Lok Sabha member of parliament from the Bharatiya Janata Party, representing the Hamirpur constituency in Himachal Pradesh. He also serves as president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

Milan Vaishnav

Milan Vaishnav is senior associate in the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he works on the political economy of India.

DemocracyEconomyTradeForeign PolicySouth 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.
event speakers

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.

Sushmita Dev

Baijayant Panda

Anurag Thakur