The question is whether Prime Minister Modi can convince the world's investors that India is the ultimate investment destination of 2018, says Kanika Datta.
Narendra Modi along with his team of 65 ministers will attend President Pranab Mukherjee's 79th birthday bash at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on December 11. After a cake cutting and a toast by Team Modi, the President will host a dinner at the banquet hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
'There was an overt campaign and there was a covert campaign. The overt campaign may be development, government, and all this nonsense. But the covert campaign, which Mr Amit Shah was doing, was far more important with the help of RSS cadres. This has been an RSS election. From day one I have been saying, this is not Congress versus the BJP, this is Congress versus the RSS,' says Jairam Ramesh, one of the key strategists of the Congress party.
Perhaps the calculation is that economic recovery will have been achieved before the next general election comes around, but such assumptions can come unstuck if current directions are not reversed quickly, cautions T N Ninan.
Gujarat is a flourshing state but its business model is not so well accepted at national level.
'The Gujarat model was never an economic model; it was essentially a governance model.'
'Mr Modi identified what would help him win votes and got it done, like 24x7 power in three phases, better roads, more water, etc.'
'Good economic governance at state level is quite different from good governance at national level,' points out T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
'If Asia does become a Chinese dominated space, it will not only be because India failed to get its economic act together but also because it did not stand up for its democratic credentials,' warns Shyam Saran, the former foreign secretary.
"For the entire opposition, the job number one is to defeat Mr Narendra Modi and save Democracy and the Constitution."
It is time for Mr Modi to be a little more reasonable and rational.
The chief executive officer of Pakistan's Dawn Media Group, Hameed Haroon on Friday dubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a 'shrewd politician who makes strong moves without making too much of noise prior to them happening'.
'Given that he would have a good understanding of how many jobs the economy can create at the moment, was Modi hailing the modest pakoda-seller to infuse some charm in self-employment?' asks Udit Misra.
Gandhi said there's a lot of space for cooperation between the United States and India in the creation of jobs and in the education sector.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the Nyay plan is a game changer and that the scheme is "fiscally perfectly doable" and will not be implemented rashly.
'The Congress era was already over anyway! The real question is: Has India opened a new, post-coalition era and I'm very doubtful about that,' Christophe Jaffrelot, author of several books on Indian politics, tells Archana Masih/Rediff.com, analysing Mandate 2014.
Mr Modi must now work to win over the governor as a friend and learn to influence people credibly.
US President Obama's visit has been an eye-opener of sorts for us!
'There is core BJP support on the Hindutva line. It will continue.' 'Along with that, the BJP is ready to play the OBCs trifurcation card to its benefit.' 'If you see the post-Kairana result, the BJP spokespersons and IT cell have already begun talking about Hindu unity against Muslim unity, Ram vs Allah.'
The choking of natural drainage brings monsoonal Mumbai to its knees year after year.
The Cricket Board has convened a Special General Meeting (SGM) in Mumbai on July 3 to decide the fate of embattled Lalit Modi amidst speculation that the suspended IPL Commissioner may be expelled from the BCCI.
'With the big political job done, the time has come to pay attention to the economy, which is the main problem now,' argues T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.
Ending all speculations, retired Australian Adam Gilchrist on Friday said he would play in this year's Indian Premier League even if some of his compatriots decide otherwise.
Reforms under the Modi government will maintain a slow and tentative pace, constantly wary of political opposition. It may not be reform by stealth, but it is reform on the quiet, says A K Bhattacharya.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah hit back at Narendra Modi on Sunday for his comment that women in the state did not enjoy equal rights, saying he is either ill informed or lying.
'New Delhi's rulers should be alert to lighting a dangerous tinderbox,' warns Sunil Sethi.
Practising Indira Gandhi's brand of socialism today will not just be anachronistic but also economically harmful.
The three main regulators have different approaches to grievance redressal and different standards to stop harmful from coming pitched at the consumer.
Taking a potshot at both Arvind Kejriwal and Narendra Modi, Congress on Sunday said while the Delhi chief minister resigned to fulfill his national ambitions, the Gujarat leader is still glued to the CM's chair.
So let's stop focusing the Modi agenda on India Inc and the capital markets, and let's start focusing on the Modi development agenda for the average Indian.
Ramesh also said that business as usual approach will not work against Modi and Shah.
Describing it as a historic moment for the Indian American community, Rakesh Mangal, former president of the Indian American Doctors' Association, Houston, said Trump attending the "Howdy Modi" event says how important India is to the entire world, especially to the US.
They said this round was the 'semi-final', and that the finals in 2014 would be between Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi. The two men campaigned more than any other party leaders in their respective camps. On both sides, there were enthusiasts who could not wait. Some in the Bharatiya Janata Party declared Mr Modi a prime ministerial candidate while the campaigning was still on, as though L K Advani was already history; and businessmen hastened to sing his praises.
India is going into the longest lockdown in the world, with the least amount of notice given to its people and the least preparation by its government.
'The principles on which a modern Republic should be governed are changing and taking dangerous turns,' warns Uddalok Bhattacharya.
When India's Blind World Cup-winning cricketers called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, the PM spent time in the company of the talented Indian team who beat Pakistan to clinch the title in Cape Town on Sunday.
'But I understand the need for this government move.' 'I completely support Mr Modi.'
Narendra Modi's pay-off from relaxing labour laws would be huge.
The Nehru-Gandhi scion attacked the Akalis for allegedly plundering Punjab and appealed people to vote for the Congress in the February 4 polls "to transform Punjab".
With so much bad news, everybody is hunkering down in readiness for Mr Modi's next radical Big Idea, says Kanika Datta.
Foreign investors, according to them, will now wait-and-watch how the economy takes shape in the backdrop of doubts over monsoon, interest rate trajectory and other global events such as the US - China trade war.
In a time of crisis like this, a government needs its people and politics united. A nation of India's size and diversity can't fight a stronger rival with fraying social cohesion, observes Shekhar Gupta.
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