Modi stays silent on key priorities

India's new Prime Minister Narendra Modi instructed top ministers Thursday to prepare their agendas for the first 100 days but did not reveal which of the country's many problems would be tackled first.
The pro-business leader was sworn in as prime minister on Monday armed with a powerful mandate to reform the ailing economy after his right-wing Hindu nationalist party won a landslide election victory.
Speculation has been mounting about what the Modi government would grasp first given the scale of India's economic problems, including creaking infrastructure, energy shortages, high inflation and poor public finances.
After attending a cabinet meeting chaired by Modi on Thursday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu refused to say what was top of the list amid sky-high expectations.
"Containing inflation is an obvious priority for the government," Naidu told reporters when repeatedly pressed about the government's focus, according to AFP.