'It has also underestimated the striking force of the Opposition. It has been complacent and paralysed. That may be due to the compulsions of coalition politics and the arrogance of a party which looked at itself as entitled to rule,' says political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot.
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Friday sounded a word of caution about the new government's 'Make in India' campaign that assumes an export-led growth path of China and said instead it should be 'Make for India' that will produce for the internal market.
'If tempers all over the country are so fragile that they can be lost because a couple of film stars give their child the same name as a 14th-century warlord, exactly what sort of compromises can be palatable,' asks Mihir S Sharma.
India is too diverse to be governed centrally and with a single system. The way forward is for the central government to keep the monopoly of military power and a share of national resources while the provinces must have greater autonomy, recommends Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'With over 50 per cent of medical seats reserved for those who have the ability to pay a fee ranging from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore for a five-year MBBS course and quotas in accordance with affirmative policies in government colleges, the band of seats available for the not-so-rich and non-OBCs is very narrow.'
'The youth have given New Delhi a chance. Now it is up to the policy-makers in Delhi to respect their political choices.'
'...to give him a signal that you cannot ignore Maharashtra, you are too close to the Centre.' 'I can see some kind of rivalry also in this, but it is better that the NIA goes deep into it.'
'The moment the BJP loses a state, it announces some policy which never takes off.'
Intolerance toward the minority communities or attempts to humiliate them or the refusal to go the extra league to build an inclusive society -- these are all evident today in our society, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a special interaction with Chinese media persons in New Delhi on the eve of the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping where he summarized the possibilities of Sino-India bilateral ties.
'Oommen Chandy may well prove to be the Teflon chief minister whose reputation cannot be tarnished,' predicts Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Clearly, rich Indians have little confidence in India. Perhaps we are also chronically dishonest.
Modi's name sparks muted enthusiasm, scepticism among youth; people expect better development pace from the prime minister
The entire gamut of China's activities is aimed at keeping India on tenterhooks, cause fatigue to its troops and keeping its security system unstable, so that it cannot play a meaningful role in international geopolitics as an effective partner of the US and Japan, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
'If there was ever a time to start up, it is the NOW and HERE!'
There are two major takeaways from the by-election results. One, a majority or Indians and Hindus have reasserted their secular credentials. The second, equally momentous, is the sure-footedness and quick response time of the Indian electorate, says Subir Roy.
'The handling of the pandemic, under this totally constitutional and legal three-level dictatorship, has begun to show its downside,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
Why has a nation created on strong secular principles slowly chipped away those essential values? Why are so many Indians willing to compromise their freedoms and those of their compatriots for the cause of economic progress and to see a shining India,' asks Aseem Chhabra.
'In 2019, in Modi we have a leader who has not shied away from showcasing a robust and aggressive response to the Pulwama and Uri attacks,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana will provide accident insurance of Rs 100,000 to all people who open bank accounts under this scheme.
Congress' chances of survival in the state do not look promising, says Aditi Phadnis
Who will make the most of the disruptions of 2016 this year? Mihir Sharma's list of probables.
Here are 8 factors to watch out for, says psephologist Yogendra Yadav.
'This is a crisis which did not happen overnight. It was happening slowly.' 'Now we are mining very fast and this crisis won't last long.'
'It did not start as a Hindutva slogan.' 'It started to tease the TMC and slowly it got internalised and the BJP started countering with Jai Shri Ram slogans because Mamata was getting provoked.'
'The more the news media weakens, especially at this juncture of economic ruin with lay-offs and wage cuts, the more the owners and journalists weigh their value in terms who they are close to, the more they depend on the State to bail them out of trouble, slow-fry their rival, the faster it pushes us towards institutional destruction,' warns Shekhar Gupta.
Growth in cities has lagged villages as consumers troubled by persistently high inflation have cut spending in the past two years.
Those who lag behind in this race to be the first with a pithy soundbite, tweet or comment are singled out for choice abuse and described as 'fence -sitters, 'apathetic' and 'safe-players', says Malavika Sangghvi
'The situation is in real danger of swinging back to the fearful days of the 1990s, primarily for want of a well thought out action plan in New Delhi.'
This time round, even 'petrol coupons' were reportedly distributed for those attending campaign rallies, especially those addressed by top leaders, cutting across party lines. If this owed to the rising cost of petrol and diesel -- which is a poll issue this time -- there were the customary coupons for 'quarter' (liquor bottle size) and non-vegetarian biryani. Some media reports claimed that some of these 'crowds' attended more than one political rally on the same day in the last week, and at times for rival political parties in adjoining constituencies or districts, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'They are deliberately targeting journalists who are not succumbing to government pressure and therefore these journalists are paying a price.'
After India, Afghanistan was among three other countries which pulled out of the SAARC summit to be hosted by Pakistan.
Some of the best photographs, clicked across the globe in January.
Markets climb higher tracking global cues.
In the absence of the over-arching 'Jaya charisma', EPS has to convince the AIADMK's traditional constituencies, including those in his western districts, that his leadership would stand up against the BJP-led Centre even in a post-poll scenario, a la Jayalalithaa, and would not yield as much as party founder MGR had done, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
''Even without major reforms, with a business as usual scenario, and with current inflation trends, we should be clocking around 11 to 12 per cent nominal growth.' 'That is not happening and is a source of worry,' Rathin Roy tells Arup Roychoudhury.
'The interesting point about the choice of the area for the surgical strikes is that it is the most sensitive part of the Line of Control,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Economist Dale W Jorgenson declares that India is doing "very, very well" and forecasts that India might continue to outrun world economies, including China over the next many years.
Drought fears will subside if the momentum generated is maintained in August.
Can Modi and Obama forge a common outlook on international terrorism?
