How good a government India has got

India has voted in a new government under new leader. The 10-year-old Congress party-led United Progressive Alliance government will be succeeded by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance. Many in India see this as a victory for development and governance, which the BJP so vehemently used as its main campaign plank in the general election.

The BJP projected its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi (who could be sworn in as India's new head of government later this week) as a strong, decisive leader who, among other things, could revive India's economy and create enough jobs for the country's youths. Surprisingly, the voters bit the bait and voted to give the BJP-led NDA an overwhelming majority in parliament.

It's a different matter that reviving a country's economy and creating enough jobs for its youths don't depend on a leader or party alone. They depend on whether the fundamentals of the Indian economy are strong enough to spring back to fast-paced growth. They depend also on whether the country's development has touched (rather benefited) every layer of society - because an economy that has made the rich richer and the poor poorer cannot be sustainable in the long run.