The newly elected Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has brought hope for India’s citizens and new businesses looking to take advantage of the country’s rich markets and bright economy. “Indian’s voted for hope” in the 2014 election, said Sadanand Dhume, a Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, who also noted that this is first election since 1984 where a majority party was swept into Parliament.

Dhume spoke at an ASNC event on September 23 co-organized in partnership with McKinsey & Co., Indiaspora, and the World Affairs Council of Northern California. The event which also featured Adil Zainulbhai, Senior Adviser and Former Chairman of McKinsey India and Rafiq Dossani, Senior Economist at the RAND Corporation, centered on an edited volume of articles on the future of India released by McKinsey titled Reimagining India: Unlocking the Potential of Asia’s Next Superpower. Markos Kounalakis, a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, moderated the event.

With a new government in place, Indian’s are expecting a significant overhaul of existing policies and projects that have hindered the country’s growth. But are people’s expectations realistic both in time and scope? It may be too early to tell, according the speakers. Zainulbhai and Dhume are confident in the potential of the BJP Party, but warn that difficult domestic challenges in healthcare, education, corruption, and poverty alleviation still need to be confronted.

Indeed, reform will not come overnight and speakers agreed that it may take up to 50 years for India to become a major contender in the international community. According to Zainulbhai, the BJP Party will need to focus its efforts on big structural reforms that will set the economy on the right path, such as reforming India’s labor laws, capital markets, and rules for land acquisition. Internationally, Prime Minister Modi has expressed a strong interest in developing infrastructure to attract foreign investment and new business, which previous governments have not been open to.

A key task for the new government is to raise the standard of living for ordinary citizens. In addition to reforming the healthcare system, access to high quality education and strengthening the ranks of qualified teachers is severely lacking and will be one of the most challenging issues facing the new government. According to Dossani, India’s educational system needs radical restructuring and the lack of funding, structural inefficiencies, and weak staff development have resulted in severely under educated Indian students compared to Brazil, Russia, and China, as well as the United States. An educated population, noted Dossani, has many positive spillovers that can lead to a more productive workforce, higher standards of living, and reduced poverty. It can also help to “leapfrog development” and accelerate the unlocking of India’s true potential.

Asia Society partnered with McKinsey & Co. to launch Reimagining India at its Centers in New York, India, Washington D.C., Australia, Houston, and Hong Kong.