Editorial Board

The Big Reform India Needs Most

Bad debts are dragging down the banking sector -- and the economy.

State-owned banks are reluctant to lend.

Photographer: STR/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reason to be wary of ambitious reforms to India’s economy, given the fraught rollout of his plan to ban 500- and 1,000-rupee notes overnight. For his country to reach its true economic potential, however, he will need to do something about India’s ailing state banks.

QuickTake India’s Aspirations