Modi 2.0's new clothes

Less than 24 hours after the swearing-in of the new Narendra Modi government was all it took for the Sanskrit saying, “the daydreams of the desperate dissolve no sooner than they form”, to sink in. Hopes of radical approaches to some of the daunting problems of India, kindled by the massive electoral endorsement Mr Modi received, were belied by the choice of ministers heading some key tasks. 

The economy has been slowing down for over a year now, but Mr Modi and his government had been in (election-induced) denial. All bad news was met with rejection, spin or worse still,