Verdict India 2009: Congress Rises with its Heir

The world’s largest democracy recently elected Manmohan Singh, the first incumbent prime minister to be re-elected in India in fifty years.  In this article, Sourabh Gupta, senior research associate at Samuels International Associates in Washington DC, places this historic victory in context.

The article explains that the new government is likely to continue its foreign relations in keeping with the policies of the previous term. While defence cooperation with the United States is expected to be deepened, India’s unwillingness to commit to Washington’s timeline for signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty may prove fraught.The author also foresees tension with India and the wider global community over climate change issues.

However, Mr Gupta concludes that domestic policy issues pose the most significant challenges to the Singh government.  Believing that India remains among the least globalised of the emerging economies, he argues that the prime minister’s legacy will be judged on growth in employment and productivity.

• Download Sourabh Gupta's full article, Verdict India 2009

Asia:NZ acknowledges the Pacific Forum CSIS for allowing us to reproduce this commentary. Please note that the views expressed by the author of this feature do not necessarily reflect the views of Asia New Zealand Foundation.