HOUSTON, January 22, 2015— Dr. Anish Goel, Senior South Asia Fellow at the New American Foundation, recently spoke at Asia Society Texas Center about Narendra Modi’s rise to power, subsequent reforms, and pragmatism as he positions India to be a global power. While Modi has been one of the first Indian leaders to publicly address the “plight of women,” much of the proposed reforms, including “Clean India,” have not demonstrated plans for substantive implementation. Modi has focused much of his energy on bolstering investment in and trade with India, which is much of what President Obama’s historic second visit to India will likely focus on. According to Goel, “gone are the days when India was pushed around by western countries. The country and workforce, however is not currently primed to become a global power and first must demonstrate it can be a reasonable regional power.”

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