A $1.4 trillion India spending push tops Modi 2.0 agenda

• BJP’s manifesto targets ₹100 trillion of capital investment in infrastructure by 2024
• Fitch Ratings said improving the India’s weak government finances will be crucial for the new administration

Event risk over, but key issues aren't fading soon and markets know that

Beyond the elections, the focus now shifts to fundamental issues such as consumption slowdown, unemployment, liquidity crisis and fiscal position

Operation Bengal pays off for BJP

Riding on a latent anti-incumbency, the BJP devised a unique campaign strategy to take on Mamata Banerjee

10 reasons why the BJP swept the polls

• Modi made people believe in themselves and in him
• Modi’s nationalism brought down the traditional hurdles of caste and, in some areas, religion, too

Ten charts that explain the 2019 Lok Sabha verdict

India seems to be witnessing the rise of a new political order, with a broad-based Hindu alliance driving the growth of the Bharatiya Janata Party

How people gave a thumbs up to Modi’s politics of performance

• Voters posed trust in Modi’s leadership for his welfare schemes like Jan Dhan Yojana
• The Modi govt took a few policy missteps but came back strongly with focus on social sector schemes

Congress stares at erosion of its political credibility

• Results a poor reflection on Rahul Gandhi’s leadership capabilities and Congress’ poll strategy to take on the BJP
• Congress' campaign did not find resonance with the people and only those candidates who were strong locally, ended up winning

Modi 2.0 muscles into new territories, retains Hindi bastion

• The BJP has created history by becoming the first non-Congress government to return to power with a full majority
• The saffron party has swept the Hindi heartland and Gujarat, and also managed to secure a strong foothold in West Bengal, Odisha, Tripura, Maharashtra, and Karnataka

Opinion: The rise and rise of brand Modi, how winner takes all

Today Modi is unassailable. He just needs to change gears, from salesman to statesman

New  govt has its task cut out amid turbulence in economy

Govt needs to fix slowdown in consumer demand, falling investments and slowing exports amid global trade wars

Modi 2.0: Sensex @45,000 is Morgan Stanley’s new one-year target

• Morgan Stanley expects the RBI to be more accommodative and the economy to come out of its soft patch
• The ongoing trends suggest that there will be continuity in administration, says Morgan Stanley

Netflix isn't absent at Cannes. It's everywhere.

• A study conducted by the Sorbonne captured just how vital Netflix has been to festival marketplaces
• 39% of Cannes premieres since 2009 have gone on to stream on Netflix, although most first had theatrical runs

Bond prices rise for third straight day

• The 10-year bond yield was at 7.219%, compared with Thursday's close of 7.236%
• Since the start of May, bond yield has fallen nearly 20 basis points

Giant killer Smriti Irani wrests Gandhi family bastion from Rahul

• In Wayanad, the second seat that he contested from, Rahul won by a margin of more than 400,000 votes
• Analysts said on Thursday her presence on the ground in Amethi did the job for her

BJP delivers on eastern promise, grows presence in Bengal, Odisha, N-E states

The numbers signify a change in the electoral politics of the east and north-east states, buoyed by the Modi wave and its agenda of Hindutva identity

How BJP’s game of alliances trumped the opposition’s mahagathbandhan

• While the NDA warded off the mahagathbandhan challenge in UP emphatically, it turned the identity politics of caste arithmetic in Bihar on its head
• BJP won 79 seats in the two states which together send 120 representatives to the Lok Sabha

Amid BJP blitz, sun sets on old satraps even as new stars rise from the south

The years from 2014 to 2019 saw an overhaul of the regional matrix with the emergence of a new set of leaders—and the downfall of some old ones

Watsa sees trade tensions easing, India best place to put money

• Watsa's companies have invested about $3.7 billion in India, including a stake in Catholic Syrian Bank last year
• Watsa is especially bullish on India and sees increased privatization in the economy under Modi

Legwork, foot soldiers and focus on its social schemes behind BJP’s success

• BJP managed to build a strong organizational network, which helped it take the NDA govt’s flagship schemes to the socially, financially weaker sections
• This importance of the elections for the BJP president can be gauged from the fact that Amit Shah travelled nearly 160,000km, holding 161 public meetings, 18 road shows and more than 1,500 meetings with BJP leaders and workers

Opinion | Markets like a decisive and reformist govt

We believe that a strong government is the biggest ally for wealth creation

Five economic challenges staring at Modi 2.0

• If the investment slowdown was not worrying enough, the recent consumption slump will add to the policy challenges for the new government
• The government in its full Budget which is likely to be presented in July will be tempted to breach the fiscal discipline

Opinion | For Trinamool Congress, the writing was on the wall for a long time

The seeds of religious polarization in Bengal had been laid by the TMC itself

Opinion: Congress needs to revisit strategy and organization

Congress fought with less of available strength, more of inherent weaknesses

Young and aspiring new India votes for continuity, reform and growth

Investors feel BJP coming back to power means continuity in reforms and stability, which will positively impact the economy and investment returns

Modi 2.0 seen continuing with its zero tolerance approach towards terror

• Government may focus on allocating more resources for the defence budget aiding modernization, fine-tune policies towards US, China and Pakistan
• The government was successful in rallying countries in its support to ensure Maulana Masood Azhar was declared a terrorist by the UN

Sumalatha: The woman who defeated power with grace

• Sumalatha was the underdog from Mandya, up against the might of the JD(S)
• She won the Mandya seat by defeating Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of Karnataka CM, by 125,622 votes

Opinion | Modi’s call for a more inclusive India

The Prime Minister’s vision of an inclusive India is commendable. Let’s hope it is realized in spirit

Opinion: Economic performance, and not just promises, helped BJP sail to victory

It has been clear case of policies which balanced development with economic growth

In the leadership battle, the Modi wave sinks Rahul’s boat

• Modi’s not only won the battle but also reached popularity levels enjoyed only by Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi
• Throughout the campaign, Modi, like in 2014, continued to set the agenda that the Congress chief followed and reacted to

Opinion | Narendra Modi reigns supreme. Now India's economy awaits

• The prime minister’s remarkable election victory offers a momentous chance to correct the missteps of his first term
• Investors will want to know if Modi still has an appetite for arbitrary action, such as his overnight ban on 86% of the country’s cash

Liberalization of debt financing norms: The need to evaluate investment models

• The simplified ECB regime opens new avenues for foreign investors for financing their Indian ventures
• Eligible borrowers include all entities eligible to receive FDI vis-à-vis the earlier restricted list of specified entities

Jagan Reddy storms to power in Andhra Pradesh as YSRCP decimates TDP

• YSR Congress supremo Jagan Mohan Reddy to be sworn in as the chief minister of AP on 30 May
• YSRCP wins close to 151 of the total 175 assembly seats and a whopping 22 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats

BJP wave blows cover off inconvenient JD(S)-Congress coalition in Karnataka

• Election results raise a question whether the Kumaraswamy-led coalition could continue in office with such glaring differences between JD(S) and Congress that cannot be ignored any longer
• Kumaraswamy says leaders of both the parties will hold a discussion about the loss

Spectrum auction, 5G trials top Telecom Ministry agenda for new government

• The most prominent among the plans are the task of issuing 5G network trial licenses to the telcos
• Another area awaiting decisions are settling issues on merger and transfers of licenses of the mergers and acquisitions taken so far

Credit view on India hinges on policies of new govt: Moody's

• Moody's expects the broad push towards fiscal consolidation to remain
• As per the trend, BJP-led NDA will form the government at the Centre for the second successive term with absolute majority

Form 15H amended, senior citizens to get higher TDS exemption on interest income

• Senior citizens with a taxable income of up to ₹5 lakh can now submit in banks and post offices Form 15H to claim exemption from TDS on interest income on deposits
• Earlier, the limit for seeking TDS exemption was ₹2.5 lakh

Election results 2019: Many hope NDA-II to roll back LTCG tax on equity

• Sensex also hit 40,000 for the first time as the early leads suggested a clear BJP victory
• The new government should definitely work something out in terms of taxation and remove the 10% LTCG tax, says financial advisor