Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to shape India into a manufacturing powerhouse and a $5 trillion economy. Instead, as his government tilts toward authoritarianism, reform has fallen by the wayside. (Illustration by Eric Chow)

How Modi won India's elections but paralyzed the economy

As PM stokes nationalism, backlash brews among business elite

HENNY SENDER, Nikkei Asian Review columnist

March 11, 2020 04:01 JST

MUMBAI -- Since the turn of the 20th century, the Godrej family has made bank safes. Now called Godrej Security Solutions, part of the sprawling Godrej business empire, the company is a bellwether for the state of the Indian economy. When banks are confident and expanding their branch networks out into the countryside, they need safes and other security equipment.