New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government on Tuesday completed 100 days in office with a mixed bag of achievements.

Various surveys conducted to gauge the mood of India suggest people are by and large happy with several initiatives the new government has taken but are somewhat disappointed with the government’s failure to rein in inflation.

The untamed prices of essential commodities which are showing no signs of coming down have further been accentuated by the failure of the monsoons in most parts of the country.

Besides inflation, rise in communal rant by fundamentalists and communal tensions in some parts of the country are being seen as the two blots on the Modi government which otherwise has got its priorities right and has given hope of to the people of a better future.

Modi led the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to an astounding victory in the last general elections with the BJP becoming the first party in three decades to get a majority on its own. Modi took over as the 14th prime minister on May 26 promising achche din (good days) to the people and was seen complaining later on that his government was not even given the honeymoon period by its critics who started questioning if the good days had come.

However, the government seems to have settled down after the initial euphoria ebbed. A plethora of promises and plans were announced through President Pranab Mukherjee’s customary address to the joint sitting of the two houses of Parliament, the union budget and Modi’s maiden Independence Day address to the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15.

Modi’s choice of countries to visit clearly shows his government is taking the Look East policy seriously. After a highly successful visit to Japan which has pledged to invest $35 billion (Dh128 billion) over the next five years in the infrastructure sector, Modi’s diplomatic skills will be tested soon when the Chinese President Xi Jinping visits India this month. India wants to do business with both Japan and China, which do not enjoy cordial relations.

Modi’s decision to scrap scheduled foreign secretary level talks with its immediate western neighbour Pakistan over continuous ceasefire violations have gladdened those who want India to deal with Pakistan sternly.

Some of the decisions of his government that have gone well with the masses are to scrap the Planning Commission and ensure opening one bank account for every household with an insurance cover.

However, the BJP received a rude shock late last month when it fared below par in assembly by-elections for 18 seats spread across four states indicating people wanted quick results that Modi had promised but failed to deliver.

His biggest challenge would come when four states go to the polls between October and December. BJP is not in power in any of the four states going to the polls. Results in Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir would be seen as a referendum on the performance of his government.