Narendra Modi’s experience in the business-friendly state of Gujarat, where he was chief minister for over a decade, may have led him to overestimate what Indian states can do on their own. The BJP now controls 18 out of India’s 29 states, accounting for almost two-thirds of the country’s GDP. Though they belong to the same party, even the BJP states aren’t stepping up efforts to share policy ideas or coordinate their approach to reforms. Modi’s experience in the business-friendly state of Gujarat, where he was chief minister for over a decade, may have led him to overestimate what Indian states can do on their own. Gujarat has a healthy exchequer, a long coastline and a functional bureaucracy—a trinity of blessings that no other Indian state possesses.

Source: Mint August 14, 2017 02:48 UTC