Many BJP leaders are of the view that most key members of the previous Cabinet could be retained.
The meeting also covered bilateral relations, ongoing peace process in Nepal and the agitation in the Terai region bordering India, they said.
'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.
'Political elites need to feel that these are our children dying, that this is a crisis for us, a tragedy for our community, we must take immediate action to save the lives of our people.'
In the third phase of the Lok Sabha election on April 23, 116 seats spread across 13 states and two Union Territories, will go to the polls.
Several leading industrialists, including Reliance Industries CMD Mukesh Ambani, Vedanta Resources Limited executive chairman Anil Agarwal, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons Ratan Tata, Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra, Paytm Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Welspun Group chairman and Assocham president B K Goenka, attended the swearing-in ceremony.
People close to the erstwhile royal family underline that Jyotiraditya Scindia is neither as accessible nor as unpretentious as his father.
The BJP is banking on development. The opposition is raking up caste identities and the dangers of hyper nationalism.
Nursing "serious suspicions" on India's role in Nepal's political process, Maoist leader Prachanda has said the Indian establishment had failed to "grasp the verdict" of the historic 2008 election and he is keen to discuss his concerns with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
'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.
'There is no shortage of material for the Opposition to develop and deploy a campaign against the government.' 'Are we seeing signs that it exists? I confess that I do not see it,' says Aakar Patel.
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.
'Some have speculated that it has to do with Doklam and the 2019 elections.' 'That Modi asked Xi not to embarrass him by sending the Chinese army into Bhutan again, this time rolling over our resistance,' says Aakar Patel.
'The problem of a Hindu rashtra is that it has no text which can be adapted to the modern world.' 'The most prominent element of the Hindu way of organising society and the State is through caste.' 'This is not acceptable to most Hindus.' 'Because a Hindu rashtra also erodes the power and the rights of the majority of Hindus, we can be assured that this is not something that the BJP, or any other force can do,' argues Aakar Patel.
India on Monday named Shiv Shankar Mukherjee, senior diplomat and Ambassador to Nepal, as its new envoy to Britain. A 1971-batch officer of the Indian Foreign Services, Mukherjee will succeed Kamlesh Sharma. Mukherjee will move to London after an eventful and successful three-year stint in Kathmandu, during which the Himalayan country witnessed revolutionary changes, resulting in the abolition of monarchy.
Altogether 1.78 crore voters, including 96.3 lakh males, 81.8 lakh females, are eligible to vote in this phase in over 16,000 polling booths.
The Special Task Force of Uttar Pradesh police has arrested an active member of the Munir gang wanted in the murder case of National Investigation Agency officer Tanzil Ahmed.
The government on Monday announced the appointment of Jayant Prasad, India's permanent representative in Geneva, as the next ambassador to Afghanistan.
Heading towards a landslide victory in the historic Nepal polls and poised to form the next government, the Maoists have crossed the 100-mark by winning 110 seats out of the 200 results declared (according to reports that last came in). Poll analysts say it will be difficult for the Maoists to get clear cut majority in the 601-seat assembly in which 575 are elected and 26 are nominated by the new Councils of Ministers.
A modern day prince and princess are getting married in Bengaluru this weekend.
Do Modi's foreign visits actually serve India or they nothing more than expensive tools for domestic positioning and image-building, asks Shehzad Poonawalla.
'Rajapaksa's victory poses a serious foreign policy challenge for the Modi government,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Banerjee said the TMC would file a defamation case against the CBI and other central agencies for 'harassing and defaming' its leaders.
Before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Modi had criticised Manmohan Singh's policy towards China and promised a more strong-willed policy. Those claims are now under a cloud.
Ambassador Nancy Powell's sudden resignation does not indicate any realignment of America's ties with India, the United States has said, asserting there is "no big behind the scenes story" that led her to quit.
It is worth reconsidering if this fascination with either having a single party majority or Modi's leadership or, indeed, both, is such a great idea for India, says Udit Misra.
Rishabh Pant hit 111 (off 96 balls) as India demolished Namibia by 197 runs in Fatullah on Saturday to cruise into the semi-finals of the ICC U-19 World Cup.
Nearly 2.6 crore people in 73 constituencies of western Uttar Pradesh are voting on Saturday in the first of the seven phases of high-stake assembly elections
'Who are these people on the streets?' 'They are youth and students who were hoodwinked, bluffed by Modi for the last seven years, with a promise of 2 crore jobs every year.' 'And Mamata sings the same tune.' 'But the youth can see that as long as there is Mamata or Modi, there is no hope.'
'Prevention plus vaccination is what is going to take us into better territory by September or October.'
She also accused the Union government of making "false claims" about crop insurance benefits to the farmers, even as the state government was bearing 80 per cent of the cost.
Is this Rahul on Kailash Mansarovar Yatra? Fake photos, says BJP
Sporadic violence marked the third phase of panchayat elections in West Bengal on Friday covering three districts of Howrah, North 24-Parganas and South 24-Parganas where an average 25 per cent polling was recorded in the first four hours of voting.
'Those who thought they are above law and above courts of the country are now approaching courts praying bail; some people have already gone inside (jail) which is their rightful place.'
Upping the ante against Amit Shah after his "fireworks in Pakistan" remark, Janata Dal-United and the Congress on Friday approached the Election Commission demanding that the Bharatiya Janata Party chief be barred from entering Bihar for "inciting communal tension" till the election process ends.
An outstanding student, the Politburo member has emerged as a leader with considerable skills of political negotiations.
Revising India's GDP upwards by 0.3 per cent to 6.3 per cent in 2015, Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said the economy shows a new promise of turnaround after the election brought a stable government in May.
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