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Narendra Modi

NEW DELHI. — Narendra Modi (63) India’s 15th Prime Minister, took oath yesterday at a ceremony held in the open at Rashtrapati Bhavan and attended by the Who’s Who of the nation, including political leaders, business people, celebrities and leaders of religious faiths, as well as leaders of neighbouring countries.

Modi was sworn in as premier with the strongest mandate of any leader for 30 years, promising to forge a “strong and inclusive” country on a first day that signalled his bold intentions.

The oath of office and secrecy was administered in Hindi to Modi by president Pranab Mukherjee. The pro-business leader was also expected to reveal a sharply reduced government of 45 members, a cut of 26 from that of his predecessor Manmohan Singh, to try to speed up decision-making and slash India’s notorious bureaucracy.

“Together we will script a glorious future for India,” Modi said in a statement posted on the website of the prime minister shortly after he took the oath.

“Let us together dream of a strong, developed and inclusive India that actively engages with the global community to strengthen the cause of world peace and development,” the statement said.

There was a certain poignancy to the momentous occasion as the inauguration of a new Prime Minister happened exactly 50 years after the death of India’s first premier Jawaharlal Nehru. — Times of India/AFP/HR.