If Modi's truly a reformer and a believer in minimum government, he would bury the Vodafone ghosts now. He would also then go to Bihar, campaigning on his politically controversial reforms. Both will need him to dip deep into his accumulated political capital and risk it, suggests Shekhar Gupta.
Ahead of PM Modi's maiden visit to the UK, the British media today said "troubles at home" after the BJP's drubbing in the Bihar elections will overshadow his visit.
Modi signed seven deals, including pacts on agriculture and water management with his friend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin 'Bibi' Netanyahu. Here's are the highlights of Modi's second day in Israel.
Prime Minister Modi made a strategic blunder of Nehruvian proportions -- presuming no war can happen now, and the Chinese won't be a military threat and risk their economic interests, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'Senior Vatican officials were pleasantly surprised at the number of Indians who had come to witness the ceremony.'
'You can see the essential contours of his new Pakistan strategy. Rather than keep engaging with or humouring them, he'd rather work on taking their four biggest supporters -- the US, China, the UAE and later Saudi Arabia -- away from them.' 'In his calculation,' says Shekhar Gupta, 'with the total support of all four of these, Pakistan will be forced to moderate its policies.'
'Mr Kejriwal has played it cool in distancing himself from Delhi's hotspots, adroitly pandering to the BJP's Hindu vote.' 'He neither visited the scene of JNU violence nor has he dropped by at Shaheen Bagh,' notes Sunil Sethi.
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Modi government must push reforms at a fast pace to restore growth.
India comes under attack over religious intolerance, human trafficking and slavery at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.
Industrialists have the same complaints as they did in the UPA's second stint.
Jaishankar said he was confident that Prime Minister Modi and President Putin will meet for an annual summit next year.
Why the prime minister's legacy will depend on how he governs, not the number of state elections he fights as personality contests, says Shekhar Gupta.
Instead, increases in foreign-direct-investment levels; and reforms to make labour, land and capital more mobile.
'This is still a relatively immature defense and high-tech relationship.'
'Having India as a credible deterrent vis-a-vis Chinese ambitions in the Indian Ocean and South Asian region is a desirable short-term outcome.'
Notably, the JD-U has put up a better than expected performance in Lok Sabha polls.
Do not underestimate the ingenuity of the Deep State in America to have its way. Keeping the guard down will be a catastrophic mistake on the part of the Delhi establishment. We could get hit when least expected. That's what happened in Bangladesh and Syria, warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
If Mr Modi is to be blamed for the post-Godhra riots, he should also be given credit for maintaining peace after the Akshardham and Ahmedabad terror attacks. The BBC will never tell you that, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'China was a relationship from which Mr Modi had expected the most it seems.' 'It showed in a string of summits, and somewhat breathless celebration of Xi Jinping.' 'It was hasty and simplistic,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
'Both reflect prejudice and short-sightedness peculiar to Mr Modi's way of thinking.'
The War of the Tiranga is a metaphor for a new battle of ideas in national politics, observes Shekhar Gupta.
US President Obama's visit has been an eye-opener of sorts for us!
'The speech shone a spotlight on both the promise and the challenges of the Narendra Modi era,' says Ram Kelkar. 'The single-minded focus which Mr Modi displayed on issues of good governance and empowering the private sector and individual enterprise.'
Here are some best moments from Hollande's visit.
'The prime minister is talking to his Chachaji and he is crying in the PM's lap, it was such an emotional scene.'
Indian business has many legitimate grievances against the political class for not delivering an optimal business environment.
The incident remains a reminder of the inherent fragilities of all geopolitical relationships.
'Ratan had the quality that JRD and Russi Mody had -- they could walk with kings and never lose the common touch.'
'People want to do business in the name of the Kedarnath temple.'
'Jockeying for that position has possibly started at this time.'
Leading the Opposition attack over the Adani-Hindenburg issue in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday linked Gautam Adani's meteoric rise to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's coming to power and said "magic" happened after 2014 that propelled the businessman from the 609th to the second spot on the global rich list.
The Modi government finds itself in a contradiction of its own making. It has encouraged pro-Russian, Westophobic public sentiment while setting strategic policy that's exactly the opposite, points out Shekhar Gupta.
The Congress on Friday claimed that a 'silent undercurrent' is brewing across western Uttar Pradesh against the 'failures' of the Modi government, as it flagged issues such as 'neglect' of sugarcane farmers and examination paper leaks.
'This whole story is going to become extremely murky and that discovering who is an agent of the Indian government is not necessarily a simple matter.' 'And that if Trudeau was to name (the person) who he thinks is the connection with the Indian government, that the Indian government will be sure to have some deniability and will be able to say he had nothing to do with us.'
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, currently on a six-day visit to Russia, discussed with the Astrakhan Governor using of the Rail-Road North-South Cargo Container Corridor through Iran.
Indian Members of Parliament have written to President Barack Obama, urging the US Administration to maintain the current policy of denying visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
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.
Speculation over his role was sparked off when senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy tweeted earlier in the day, Modi should take Cinema star Sharuk Khan to Qatar with him since after MEA and NSA had failed to persuade the Shiekhs of Qatar, Modi pleaded with Khan to intervene , and thus got an expensive settlement from the Qatar Shiekhs to free our Naval officers.
'If we want our economies to be strong, we need to invest in young people who are our future.'
'The central BJP leaders were determined to push Hindutva hard, and it failed.'
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