Modi’s India binge

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pitching himself to the world's biggest voting public as a nation builder in his quest for a third term.  He's spent billions — and sought to reap political dividends — from a nationwide upgrade of the country's roads, railways, airports and seaports. Then there's the big outlays on digital infrastructure like new data centers, fiber-optic lines and an expanded digital payments system.  Problem is, these new construction projects are running into old headwinds, like challenges obtaining land, completion delays and quality problems. And while improvements like new highways and high-speed rail are winning praise from business leaders, opponents have accused Modi of focusing too much on glitzy projects that don't benefit the poor.  Then there's the financing, which is reliant on the state after an infrastructure debt bust in the 2010s left many private lenders wary. In December, the International Monetary Fund warned it expected India's public debt to rise to 82.3% of gross domestic product this fiscal year, leading to "substantial gross financing needs" even as it praised India's infrastructure initiatives. And the bill is only going to get bigger. Over the next two years, 44.4 trillion rupees ($534 billion) worth of new infrastructure is set to come online, equal to the inflation-adjusted value of all infrastructure built in the last 11 years, according to Bloomberg Economics.  Election rules don't allow for any result polls to be published during the six weeks of voting, so it's difficult to know just how Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party are faring. Exit polls won't be published until June 1 with results expected on June 4. If Modi prevails, delivering on his nation-building promises won't be easy. The Federal Reserve's first-line inflation gauge is about to show some modest relief from stubborn price pressures, corroborating central bankers' prudence about the timing of rate cuts. Economists expect the personal consumption expenditures price index minus food and energy — due on Friday — to rise 0.2% in April. That would mark the smallest advance so far this year for the measure, which provides a better snapshot of underlying inflation. MLIVE Pulse Survey How will the US presidential election drive Federal Reserve rate decisions through the end of 2024? Will the trajectory of the key interest rates next year change, depending on who is in the White House? How will the bond markets react to the results of the election? Share your views in a quick Bloomberg MLIV Pulse survey. Need-to-Know Research Emerging markets such as India and Indonesia, whose populations are growing at a solid pace, stand to benefit as demographics begin to play a bigger role in investment decisions, according to Fidelity International and BlackRock Investment Institute. BlackRock's analysis shows a positive relationship between a country's working-age population growth and share-price valuations, while Fidelity sees the financial sector as a key beneficiary as credit needs grow for both corporates and consumers.