Modi, 68, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Ram Nath Kovind at a glittering ceremony at the forecourt of majestic Rashtraparti Bhavan.
Many BJP leaders are of the view that most key members of the previous Cabinet could be retained.
The results of the recent presidential elections in Sri Lanka are likely to have stunned groups in Tamil Nadu that have been giving moral and material support to Tamils in the north and east of the island for decades. Tamil Nadu-based groups had asked Sri Lanka Tamils to protest against the election and boycott voting.
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena will visit India on his maiden foreign trip next month even as he ordered the release of all Indian fishermen in custody in Colombo as a goodwill gesture on the first day in office.
'We should expect a cold-blooded, transactional relation that requires a lot of engagement and mutual trust to sustain,' says Constantino Xavier, Fellow, foreign policy, Brookings India.
India strongly believes that its economic growth must bring benefits to its neighbours, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today as a stadium in Jaffna renovated by India was jointly inaugurated by him along with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena.
'Modi's first foreign trip at the very outset of his second term as PM reinforces a growing impression that this regional tour underscores a shift in emphasis in India's foreign policy that was traditionally focused on the northern tier of countries to the Indian Ocean rim,' explains Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The country has a fiendishly complicated electoral system that is a combination of population-based proportional representation and party-based national lists, says Aditi Phadnis
Seven persons had been arrested in connection with the blasts.
China has invested millions in Sri Lankan infrastructure.
Unlike in the presidential polls, victory might not have been complete, at least as yet, for Mahinda Rajapaksa's electoral rivals. While his one-time aide and confidant, Maithripala Sirisena, became president without any issues after defeating him, incumbent Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who again may not command an absolute majority in the 225-member parliament, would have to count on his 'national government' concept to carry the day and the nation with him, this time round, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
World leaders are reacting with caution to Donald Trump's jaw-dropping victory in the US presidential election, with some of them reminding him of the democratic values and the global responsibility he carries.
Authorities also released photographs of six suspects, including three women, wanted for their involvement in the attacks and sought information regarding them from the public.
The protesting fishermen have refused to accept the body of the fisherman unless a central minister visits the island and gives them an assurance that such incidents would not happen again, Rameswaram Fishermen Association President S Emiret said.
New Delhi is approaching Gota with an open mind, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Rajapaksa has blamed India, the United States and European countries for his humiliating defeat.
Prime Minister Modi described the DMK chief as a prolific thinker and a deep-rooted mass leader who stood for regional aspiration and national progress.
The two countries also signed memoranda of understanding in education and health sectors after visiting External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Lankan counterpart Mangala Samaraweera co-chaired the 9th Indo-Lanka Joint Commission meeting in Colombo.
Modi said he was glad that his trip "is one to wipe tears from the eyes of those who suffered".
Colombo's enduring interests suggest the relationship between the Sri Lanka and China will only strengthen, says Nitin Pai.
Sri Lankans on Thursday voted in large numbers in the bitterly contested presidential election in which incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa is seeking a record third term against his friend-turned-foe Maithripala Sirisena, with an unusually high voter turnout in Tamil and Muslim areas.
In a Sri Lankan House of 225 members, the cut-off figure comes to 113. With Wickremesinghe side touching 102 and Rajapaksa's team at 101, the three-party Tamil National Alliance with 16 members and the left-leaning Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna with 6 members hold the key. But with the latter declaring that they will not support either formation in a vote count,that leaves the TNA as the deciding factor, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'What we have heard from the Sri Lankans is their desire to have a foreign policy that allows Sri Lanka to best advance its own interests rather than a foreign policy that relied solely on one relationship.' 'We think this is an attitude that makes a lot of sense. India and Sri Lanka have many areas of shared interests, and it's certainly welcomed by us to see that deepening of those ties.'
'The path to a resolution of the ethnic conflict is likely to be complicated and controversial with the majority Sinhalese community, and will become less likely if delayed.' 'It will certainly give Rajapaksa fresh political oxygen with which to revive himself and rally the opposition.'
A list of all the foreign visits taken up by PM Narendra Modi this year and their outcomes.
As the island heads for elections, two major factors worry Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. One is the division in the Sinhala vote and the other is the prospect of the Tamils and Muslims voting heavily against him.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances