A decade after Modi was first elected prime minister, India’s economy is roughly twice its size. This happens when a country grows at a rate of 7% a year, as India has averaged since it opened its market to international competition in 1991.
This steady growth is cleverly repackaged to promote a person’s image of leadership that makes it all happen. Beyond nationalism and Hindu pride, the idea that Modi can boost the economy has been central to his appeal from the beginning.
Mr. Modi has boosted India’s economy in the ways that voters value most: He has implemented a visible infrastructure expansion and distributed benefits to most Indians. living standards, but Indians are still poor.
Most of the rest of the world – especially the United States and other Western countries hoping to persuade India to join their ranks in limiting China and Russia’s strategic ambitions – wants India’s economy to accelerate.
Part of the story could be a shift in manufacturing, like the one Apple is undertaking in southern India. Investment professionals around the world are eager for India’s success under Modi to start paying dividends they can’t find elsewhere.
But even the most ardent investors cannot ignore some of the problems India faces as it emerges as the world’s newest heavyweight. As Modi basks in the glory of a successful moon landing and the country’s innovative “digital public infrastructure”, the political opposition is trying to bypass him in addressing the frustrated masses clamoring for more and better jobs.
The opposition has also sought to stoke public anger over Modi’s ties to the country’s biggest tycoons. For Gautam Adani, it doesn’t seem to be working, either politically or in the market. The rhetoric was fiery and angry last year when the billionaire’s empire was accused of stock manipulation. But claims barely broke through, and Adani’s shares soared again.
