

Modi has generally been good for business but not always good for a level playing field. His government is pro-business, but it also has a strongly nationalist outlook, and those two things are mutually reinforcing.

The recent upheaval in Bihar is only the latest signal that the BJP is the new center of political gravity in a country long controlled by the storied Nehru-Gandhi dynasty of the Congress Party.

While Indian voters often misidentify the ethnic identity of their candidate, the degree of error is small but systematic.

When Trump and Modi meet for the first time, they will likely focus on defense deals. They may also discuss areas of mutual interest, including trade, investment, and counterterrorism.

Voters in India select candidates with criminal records to fill a gap left by weak institutions. Criminal politicians promise to provide services to their caste or social group, no matter the cost.

The biggest challenge for the Indian state is not its size, but its inefficiency. Carnegie Senior Fellow Milan Vaishnav and co-authors Devesh Kapur and Pratap Bhanu Mehta discuss their new book, Rethinking Public Institutions in India, and explore the massive challenges India faces and the state’s ability to adapt. (Runtime - 29:09)

In India, candidates with a criminal record have a higher rate than clean candidates. Parties nominate criminals at least partially because they win.

As India’s challenges mount, the need for institutional reform is vital if the country is to build and sustain an Indian state for the 21st century.

In India, it is useful to view the relative success of criminal politicians as a byproduct of democratic practice, rather than its authoritarian antithesis.

There is a dramatic mismatch between what ails political finance in India and the government’s “reform” measures. The budget presentation and its new amendments have made political funding less transparent.