Finally, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate has given India a sense of his economic vision for the country. Apart from the much-publicised Gujarat model of development—basically, a ‘strong’ administration topped with dollops of PR and a pronounced pro-corporate tilt—Modi had thus far shied away from speaking out on macro-economic policy and other pressing, allied issues. His views matter, of course, because the economy has assumed centrestage as a crucial election issue for 2014. Sensing this, political parties have been busy pump-priming voter expectations—from promising to ‘fight’ inflation; ‘reform’ taxes; give ‘free’ water; increase the number of subsidised lpg cylinders.