Though there is the temptation to view the outcome of the Indian prime minister's recent five-day visit to the United States through the prism of "concrete deliverables," Narendra Modi's trip has energized a relationship that had been drifting for the past several years. But it has not won universal praise.
India's Congress party has attacked the prime minister for reducing diplomacy to "event management" and trying to create an atmosphere through "cheerleaders." Modi's critics are also attacking him for getting nothing substantive out of the visit as if the only purpose of high-level foreign visits is to bring back "presents" for the country.
The differences between the U.S. and India remain wide on a range of key issues. American businesses have been concerned about high tariffs, retrospective tax policies, intellectual property rights protection and foreign direct investment restrictions.