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On News Track, Maria Shakil reviews Prime Minister Narendra Modi completing 25 continuous years in government, tracing his journey from Gujarat Chief Minister in 2001 to Prime Minister.
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00:00Good evening, you're watching NewsTrack with me, Maria Shaquille, from Chief Minister of Gujarat to Prime Minister of India.
00:06Today, Prime Minister Modi completes 25 years in government.
00:10It's a journey that began with an RSS Pracharak, who left his home in his early 20s,
00:16took him to the corridors of power in Gandhinagar, and then to 7 Lok Kalyan Marg in New Delhi.
00:25A journey of organization, ambition, political battles, some setbacks, and many electoral victories.
00:32But above all, a journey defined by Prime Minister Modi in his own words repeatedly,
00:38where he placed Seva and Sankalp at the centre.
00:42His tenure has been defined by decisions that have reshaped India's political and strategic landscape.
00:48But there's little doubt that Narendra Modi has reshaped the grammar of Indian politics today.
00:56Today, while speaking at the Indira Gandhi indoor stadium in Delhi,
01:00Prime Minister's message was strikingly simple.
01:03We will do it.
01:05The India that Narendra Modi says must emerge by the time the country marks 100 years of independence.
01:14An India that, in his own vision, combines Virasat and Vikas, heritage with modernity, and tradition with technology.
01:22Well, we know the speeches, we know the campaigns, we know the election victories, we know the big decisions,
01:29but how does Narendra Modi actually function?
01:33What drives the man who is known for beginning his day early and working long into the night?
01:39How does he take decisions?
01:42How does he prepare?
01:43And what is the Narendra Modi that the public doesn't get to see?
01:48To understand the man behind the office, the image behind the leader, and the working style behind the politics,
01:54I will be speaking to members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's inner circle here on Newstrap.
02:01But first up, let's listen in to what Prime Minister Modi said earlier today.
02:10Vixit Bharat by 2047, we will do it.
02:19Vixit Bharat by 2047,
02:35Vixit Bharat by 2047,
03:08Vixit Bharat by 2047,
03:21And joining me first on the show is Parmeswaran Iyer,
03:26who spearheaded Prime Minister Modi's flagship Swach Bharat mission
03:31as Secretary in the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation from 2016 to 2020.
03:37Sir, I appreciate your time here on India today,
03:40and particularly today when Prime Minister Modi completes 25 years in government.
03:44You have written an article that Gujarat under Narendra Modi between 2001 and 2014
03:52served as a laboratory for water governance reforms that were subsequently scaled nationally.
03:59What did Prime Minister Modi do differently in Gujarat?
04:02Was it the political polarization of water, the institutional architecture,
04:08or the insistence on execution that made those lessons scalable?
04:17Yeah, no, thanks, Maria. It's a great question.
04:20You know, today, water is a major developmental challenge globally, right?
04:25You know, whether you're talking of climate change, variability, droughts, floods.
04:30So water is pretty much on the top of the development agenda, not just in India, but everywhere.
04:35So we thought this would be a good time to look at water, the water story in India.
04:40And then when we started looking at it in detail,
04:43we saw a lot of the big programs which are going on in the government of India and in the
04:48States.
04:48The Jal Jeevan Mission, Namami Ganga, the Jal Shakti Abhiyan, before that, the Swatbharat Mission.
04:55A lot of them trace their sort of origin in terms of the laboratory you refer to in Gujarat, you
05:03know, 25 years ago.
05:05So when Chief Minister Modi took charge, in fact, today, 7th October 2001,
05:10he was looking at a lot of challenges.
05:12But water scarcity in a water stress state was on top of the agenda.
05:17And it was fascinating how he took water governance, you know, I'm stressing the word governance,
05:24and put it at the top of his developmental priorities for the state of Gujarat.
05:29So that was the first thing which was very different from anyone else had done in a state.
05:34The prioritization of water and water writ large.
05:38I'm talking of river development.
05:40I'm talking of irrigation.
05:41I'm talking of drinking water, cutting across water resource management.
05:46So I think that was the first thing.
05:47Then he set about it in a very systematic way, right?
05:51So the whole Narmada story, which greened Gujarat, took a lot of persistence, effort, dedication, leadership
05:58by Chief Minister Modi to make that happen.
06:01That led to the greening of Gujarat.
06:03Kach, I mean, is transformed if you look at it today.
06:06But then they also started talking of micro-irrigation in those days, 25 years ago, and then drinking
06:13water and sanitation through community-led initiatives, setting up the institutional architecture through
06:19an organization called VASMO.
06:21So a lot of these seeds of governance of water were sort of started, triggered by Chief Minister Modi,
06:29which was very different from other states.
06:31And then many of them then got scaled up in a fascinating manner over the last decade when
06:38he became prime minister.
06:39So when they talk of the Jalji Vin Mission, which is looking at the largest drinking water program in the
06:44world,
06:45where coverage is exceeded 82%, river cleaning through Namami Ganga, micro-irrigation PMKSY.
06:53Then you're looking at, you know, per drop, more crop, the Jal Shakti Abhiyan, groundwater management
07:00through the Atal Bhujal Yojana.
07:02So a lot of these programs, they were seeded, so to speak, which is why we have used the word
07:08laboratory in Gujarat.
07:10And coming out of that, but taking them to scale nationally, there are significant lessons, Maria, for the world,
07:17particularly the global south.
07:18And, you know, happy to share some of those key messages from the case study,
07:22which along with my co-authors, Dan Smith and Nitin Basi, we launched this morning here at IAM Bangalore.
07:29Sir, you know, in your article, you say that there are four P's,
07:33which is political leadership, public financing, partnerships and people's participation.
07:39Of these, how critical was Prime Minister Modi's personal political ownership?
07:50Look, I think that's the most important P in the four P's.
07:53The first P and the fourth P, people's participation.
07:57But political leadership, you know, that's at the heart of governance.
08:02And when we talk about water governance, without that political leadership at the highest level,
08:07none of these programs could either have been conceived or implemented at such a scale,
08:13which is why that Delhi declaration, which we did in October 2018,
08:17where Prime Minister Modi and Secretary General Guterres jointly signed that
08:22in an international conference, which had 55 ministers from around the world.
08:27It became critical.
08:28So that personal leadership of Prime Minister Modi,
08:32earlier Chief Minister Gujarat,
08:34that made all the difference,
08:35because that's the wind at your back.
08:38When you're implementing a program,
08:39when you have that level of political leadership and support,
08:41but we had actually much more than that, right?
08:44We had the communicator-in-chief,
08:46which was very, very important to articulate the mission goal
08:50and then monitor its success.
08:53The partnership, the third P, and then public financing,
08:57putting your money where your mouth is, right?
08:58Many programs around the world in different countries have the right policies.
09:03Right.
09:03But if you're not willing to prioritize the financing for those programs,
09:07they're not going to happen.
09:08So I think those four Ps could be applied in any developmental context.
09:12And we were fortunate that we had the Prime Minister
09:15putting his kind of personal stamp and leading this program.
09:20Masaya, you worked closely on the Jaljeevan mission
09:23after Prime Minister Modi announced it in 2019,
09:28building on lessons from Gujarat.
09:30What was the biggest conceptual shift moving water
09:35from being seen primarily as an engineering infrastructure problem
09:41to treating it as a governance and service delivery challenge?
09:45And how much of that thinking came directly from the Gujarat experience?
09:52Look, I think most of it came from Gujarat, to be absolutely honest.
09:56And if you see the four big takeaways from the case study,
10:00and they are at the heart of the answer to your question.
10:03So what are these four things?
10:05We are saying first, we learned this from Gujarat,
10:08lead with governance, not necessarily with infrastructure.
10:11And when we talk of governance,
10:13we have highlighted the four Ps which I just mentioned, right?
10:16So that's the first key message to the Global South
10:19and to all our states in it.
10:21The second message is when you're dealing with water,
10:24you have to manage both the resource and the service delivery.
10:28So it's water resource management and service delivery of water together.
10:32So that's very important.
10:34You can't be doing them in isolation.
10:35That's the second key lesson which came from Gujarat.
10:38The third is putting communities at the heart of the story.
10:41The village water and sanitation committee,
10:43the Pani Samhiti as they call it in Gujarat,
10:46under the Gram Panchayat,
10:47getting them to lead and manage and getting them to own
10:50and be accountable is fundamental.
10:52And the fourth, whether it's Gujarat or India,
10:56think big.
10:56This is doing things at scale, right?
10:59I mean, it's a big lesson for political leaders
11:01from other countries like in Africa.
11:02You have to think big, put out a vision,
11:05create the capacity,
11:07find the resources public and private,
11:10and then go out and deliver and monitor.
11:13All these lessons, I think, were germinated in Gujarat
11:16and then they were scaled up in India.
11:19But Ms. Wadhan, I hear my last question to you, sir.
11:2225 years after Prime Minister Modi
11:25became Chief Minister of Gujarat,
11:26your research now traces a 2001 to 2026 journey
11:30from Gujarat to India and potentially now the Global South.
11:35If you strip away the politics
11:37and look purely at governance,
11:40what is the one institutional lesson
11:43from the Modi years that you believe
11:46has had the greatest lasting impact
11:49and what, according to you, remains unfinished?
11:55Okay, I think that if I had to pick one,
11:57I mean, there are many.
11:58I think it's putting communities,
12:00the janandulan,
12:01making sure that the user,
12:03the user not just benefits,
12:06but takes charge.
12:07So putting communities,
12:09the user at the heart of management,
12:11of accountability,
12:13I think that is one of the highlights
12:15of the water governance story,
12:17apart from all the four Ps.
12:19I think that's critical.
12:20And I think going forward,
12:22what needs to continue
12:23is focusing on,
12:25which the JJM is doing now,
12:27on the sustainability of these programs,
12:29because you've got to keep working at it, right?
12:31That's an important lesson
12:32which we have learned
12:33over the last 25 years,
12:35that the work never stops.
12:37You can achieve big goals,
12:39but you've got to keep working at it
12:41to sustain the benefits.
12:43So I would say that needs to continue
12:45and it is continuing.
12:47All right, Parmeswaran,
12:48I appreciate your time.
12:49Thank you for sharing all those stories
12:51and giving us a glimpse
12:53of how Prime Minister Modi thinks and works.
12:55Let me bring in another part
12:57of inner circle here
12:58of Prime Minister Modi,
13:00Amitabh Khan,
13:01who played a key role
13:03in several flagship initiatives
13:05of Prime Minister Modi's government
13:06from Make in India,
13:08Startup India
13:09and India's G20 presidency.
13:12He has also been instrumental
13:13in promoting India's digital,
13:15you know,
13:16public infrastructure investment.
13:18He joins me now.
13:20Amitabh Khan,
13:21you were brought in
13:22as the first full-time CEO
13:24of Neeti Ayo.
13:25after Prime Minister Modi
13:26dismantled
13:27the Planning Commission
13:29and replaced it
13:30with a very different institution
13:31in 2014.
13:33Looking back,
13:35what was
13:36Mr. Modi
13:37trying to fundamentally change
13:40in the way
13:40India was governed?
13:46So, you know,
13:47I met Mr. Modi
13:48earlier
13:49when I was
13:52the CEO
13:53of Delhi-Mumbai Corridor
13:54and he was
13:55the chief minister
13:56of Gujarat.
13:57I was
13:58looking around
13:59for land
13:59for creating
14:01new cities.
14:02All chief ministers
14:03said no.
14:05Then when I went
14:05to him,
14:06he asked me,
14:07how much land
14:07do you need?
14:08I said,
14:08150 square kilometers.
14:10He said,
14:10why do you need
14:11such small
14:13size of land?
14:14You go for
14:14a much larger
14:15area.
14:16And he agreed
14:16to give
14:17750 square kilometer
14:18for Dolera City.
14:20I realized then
14:21that he had
14:22vision
14:22and he was
14:24willing
14:24to think big
14:26and he was
14:27willing to take
14:27risks.
14:28You know,
14:29when I left
14:30as secretary
14:31DIPP
14:32and I was
14:33retiring,
14:34he asked me
14:34to take
14:34over as
14:35CEO
14:35Neeti Ayo.
14:36His entire
14:38game at that
14:38point of time
14:39was that the
14:40governance
14:40must be
14:41improved.
14:42There should
14:42be focus
14:42on outcome
14:44based performance.
14:46And he said,
14:47focus on
14:49competitive
14:49federalism,
14:50make the
14:51states compete,
14:52which had
14:52never been
14:53done earlier.
14:54So we started
14:54ranking states
14:55on ease of
14:56doing business,
14:57on learning
14:58outcomes,
14:58health outcomes.
14:59And then
15:01one fine day
15:02after the
15:03cabinet meeting,
15:04he called
15:04me and he
15:05said,
15:06you start
15:06working on
15:07the most
15:07backward
15:08district.
15:09Let's focus
15:09on the
15:09last man.
15:11And,
15:12you know,
15:13that's how
15:13the 115
15:15of the most
15:16backward
15:16districts
15:17were identified.
15:17He never
15:18called them
15:19backward.
15:19He changed
15:20the name
15:20to aspirational
15:21districts.
15:22And again,
15:23the focus
15:24was outcomes,
15:26good governance,
15:27competition,
15:28performance,
15:29putting out
15:30data in
15:30public domain.
15:32And very
15:33soon we
15:34realized that
15:34these are
15:35parameters on
15:36which these
15:36districts were
15:37performing very
15:38well and many
15:38of them went
15:39around to
15:39perform better
15:40than the
15:40best performing
15:41districts.
15:42So I
15:43realized that
15:44his focus
15:44was on good
15:45governance.
15:46I realized
15:46that his focus
15:47was big
15:48thinking.
15:48I realized
15:49that he was
15:50trying to
15:50bring great
15:52hope and
15:53optimism.
15:54And he
15:55was transformational
15:57in many,
15:58many ways.
15:59So, you
16:00know, you
16:00have worked
16:01with Mr.
16:02Modi through
16:03the Neeti
16:03IO gears and
16:04then as
16:05his G20
16:06Sherpa.
16:07What did
16:08you see up
16:09close that
16:10tells you
16:11most about
16:12his style?
16:12His
16:13insistence on
16:14execution,
16:15his appetite
16:16for big
16:17structural reforms
16:18or his
16:20ability to
16:20turn a
16:21political vision
16:22into what
16:23many see as
16:25almost like an
16:26administrative
16:27mission?
16:30a couple
16:31of great
16:32qualities.
16:33First is
16:33his ability
16:34to think
16:35big and
16:36large.
16:36Very few
16:37leaders have
16:37this ability
16:38to go
16:39against the
16:40status quo.
16:43He's a
16:44change agent
16:45in many ways.
16:46Secondly,
16:46he's willing
16:47to take
16:47risks.
16:48Thirdly,
16:49he believes
16:50in delegating
16:51authority and
16:52power to you
16:52and once he's
16:53given the big
16:54picture,
16:54that you
16:55deliver.
16:56fourthly,
16:57I think he's
16:58a great
16:58listener.
16:59I've rarely
16:59come across
17:00a leader
17:01who listens
17:02so carefully,
17:03so attentively
17:04before he
17:05decides.
17:06Fifthly,
17:07I think
17:09he's a
17:09person who
17:10believes in
17:10bringing hope
17:11and optimism
17:12and I
17:14think one
17:15of the great
17:15things about
17:16him is that
17:16he's a
17:17great,
17:17great
17:17communicator.
17:19There can't
17:20be a leader
17:20who can
17:21communicate
17:21so very
17:23well and
17:25I think
17:26these are
17:27the qualities
17:28which I
17:29think make
17:30him a
17:30great
17:30transformational
17:31leader.
17:31So let's
17:32talk about
17:33your tenure
17:33as Neeti
17:34Aayok,
17:35CEO.
17:35In that
17:36capacity,
17:37you drove
17:38initiatives such
17:39as aspirational
17:40districts,
17:41PLI and the
17:42national AI
17:43strategy as
17:43well.
17:44Then as
17:45G20
17:45Sherpa,
17:46you helped
17:49deliver India's
17:50G20
17:50presidency and
17:51also more
17:52importantly the
17:53leader's
17:54declaration.
17:55What in
17:56your experience,
17:57Mr.
17:57Kant,
17:57is the
17:58common thread
17:59between
18:00Prime Minister
18:01Modi's
18:01domestic
18:02governance
18:02model and
18:03his global
18:04diplomacy?
18:07One is
18:08he's very
18:09clear that
18:09domestically
18:10you have to
18:12transform and
18:13become focused
18:14on good
18:15governance.
18:16He's very,
18:16very focused
18:17on, for
18:18instance, I
18:19worked with
18:19him on
18:20ease of
18:20doing
18:20business.
18:21He's
18:21a scrap
18:21all these
18:22rules,
18:22regulations,
18:23procedures,
18:24acts,
18:24India's
18:24only country
18:25which has
18:25scrapped
18:26over 30,000
18:27laws.
18:28I mean,
18:29his immense
18:29focus on
18:30going digital.
18:31I did
18:32100 digital
18:33mail-outs for
18:33him in
18:33100 days.
18:35You know,
18:35I kept
18:36requesting him
18:36to give
18:36me more
18:37time.
18:37No,
18:38once he's
18:39taken
18:39addition,
18:39he wants
18:40you to
18:40deliver,
18:41execute,
18:41execute,
18:42execute,
18:42but he
18:43leaves the
18:43details to
18:44you.
18:44He doesn't
18:44get into
18:45it.
18:45Similarly,
18:46with the
18:47production-linked
18:48incentive scheme,
18:48I made
18:49four or
18:50five
18:50presentations
18:51to him.
18:51But once
18:52he got it,
18:53then he
18:54leaves the
18:54execution to
18:55you,
18:56and that's
18:56how Apple
18:56has become
18:57the biggest
18:57manufacturer in
18:58India.
18:59And fourthly,
19:00G20,
19:01he said,
19:02make it
19:02ambitious,
19:03make it
19:04forward-looking,
19:05make it
19:05big-picture,
19:06involve all
19:07the states,
19:08left all the
19:09details to me.
19:10Never got into
19:11what the
19:12document was,
19:13never got into
19:13what we were
19:14getting into
19:15the states.
19:15He then
19:16expects you
19:16to deliver.
19:17And that
19:18is what a
19:19great leader
19:19is.
19:20Big picture,
19:21big vision,
19:22execution leaves
19:23it to you,
19:23doesn't interfere
19:24in day-to-day
19:25functioning.
19:26That's what
19:26makes him,
19:27you know,
19:28I enjoyed
19:28working with
19:29him as
19:29CEO Neeti
19:30Aayu and
19:30a G20
19:31Sharper,
19:32largely
19:32because he
19:33was a
19:33big-picture
19:34man and
19:34never,
19:35never,
19:35ever got
19:36into day-to-day
19:37functioning.
19:38Okay.
19:38Mr.
19:39Kants,
19:3925 years
19:40after Modi
19:41first became
19:42Chief Minister
19:42of Gujarat,
19:43he is now
19:43talking about
19:46he is not
19:47talking about
19:47the past,
19:48but about
19:49Vixit Bharat
19:502047.
19:51Having worked
19:52with him
19:52through two
19:53very different
19:54phases,
19:55transforming
19:55India's
19:56domestic policy
19:57architecture and
19:57then projecting
19:58India globally,
19:59do you see
20:00the next phase
20:02as an extension
20:03of the Modi
20:03model or a
20:05fundamentally
20:05different chapter?
20:09So,
20:10my view is
20:10that we are
20:11in the midst
20:11of global
20:12conflicts,
20:12we are in
20:13the midst
20:13of breakdown
20:14of global
20:15supply chains,
20:16we are
20:16seeing a
20:19great amount
20:20of protectionism,
20:23muscular industrial
20:24policy,
20:24but we are
20:25also seeing
20:25the rise
20:26of huge
20:27productivity
20:27through the
20:28use of
20:28AI.
20:29And one
20:30of the
20:30fortunate
20:31thing is
20:31that Prime
20:32Minister Modi
20:33is very
20:33technology savvy
20:34and that's
20:35why he's
20:35pushed
20:35digitization
20:36in a big
20:37way.
20:37He's a
20:37believer in
20:38AI,
20:39that's why
20:39the AI
20:40mission,
20:40he's a
20:40believer in
20:41quantum
20:41computing,
20:42that's why
20:42the mission
20:43on quantum
20:44computing.
20:44He's a
20:44believer in
20:45green
20:45hydrogen,
20:46that's why
20:46the mission
20:46on green
20:48hydrogen.
20:48And the
20:49only way
20:50India can
20:51become a
20:51developed
20:52economy and
20:53a 30
20:53plus trillion
20:54dollar economy
20:54is by using
20:55technology to
20:56leapfrog.
20:57And he is
20:58pushing for
20:58that.
20:59Much like
21:00we've done
21:00in digitization
21:01where in
21:02seven years
21:02we've achieved
21:0350 years of
21:03progress,
21:04we need to
21:05become a
21:06clean technology
21:08nation by
21:09pushing for
21:09green
21:10hydrogen.
21:10We need
21:11to become
21:11a great
21:11nation for
21:12technology on
21:14AI diffusion.
21:15We need to
21:16transform learning
21:16outcomes,
21:17health outcomes,
21:18nutritional standards
21:19through the use
21:20of AI.
21:21And I think in
21:22all this his
21:22leadership will be
21:23critical because
21:24he's a believer
21:25in using
21:26technology to
21:27make India
21:27pole vault.
21:29All right,
21:30Amitabh Kanth,
21:31I appreciate your
21:31time.
21:32Thank you for
21:32joining us.
21:33Joining me
21:34now is Shashi
21:35Shekhar Vimpati,
21:36who is the
21:37chairman of the
21:37CBFC and
21:39former CEO
21:40of Prasad
21:42Bharti.
21:42Appreciate your
21:43time, Mr.
21:44Vimpati.
21:45You have
21:46written that
21:47Narendra Modi
21:48was the one
21:49constant behind
21:50the BJP's
21:51consolidation in
21:52Gujarat,
21:53adapting his
21:54methods to
21:55different political
21:55circumstances.
21:5625 years later,
21:58what has been
21:59the biggest
22:00evolution in
22:01Modi's political
22:02strategy,
22:03according to you,
22:04and what has
22:05remained remarkably
22:06constant?
22:10So if you
22:11look at his
22:12entire 25-year
22:13journey,
22:15the one
22:16constant is
22:17his ability
22:18to innovate
22:18and adapt
22:19to changing
22:21circumstances,
22:22new technologies,
22:23crises.
22:24I think the
22:25one thing
22:26that clearly
22:26stands out
22:27is he's
22:28someone who
22:29can adapt
22:29to change
22:30very quickly
22:31and embrace
22:32new ways of
22:34doing things,
22:35embrace new
22:35technologies.
22:36So that
22:37adaptability, I
22:38think, is
22:38remarkable,
22:39especially
22:39given the
22:41fact that
22:42he's been on
22:43this long
22:43road for
22:4425 long
22:45years,
22:46and he
22:47has had
22:48to do
22:49it in
22:51an environment
22:52where
22:53unprecedented
22:54events have
22:55occurred,
22:55the once
22:57in a
22:57hundred
22:57year
22:57pandemic,
22:58there are
22:59multiple
23:00wars,
23:00you had
23:00operations
23:01endured,
23:01so all
23:01sorts of
23:02challenges.
23:03And then
23:03when everyone
23:04thought,
23:04how will
23:05he work
23:06in an
23:07environment
23:07where the
23:08BGP did
23:08not have
23:09a parliamentary
23:09majority,
23:10and even
23:11there he
23:11demonstrated
23:12that he
23:12can lead
23:13and work
23:13with the
23:14coalition.
23:15You come
23:16from a
23:16technology and
23:17digital media
23:18background,
23:20and you have
23:20headed Prasad
23:21Bharti.
23:21Prime Minister
23:21Modi's 25
23:22year journey
23:23coincides with
23:24a fundamental
23:25transformation
23:26in how
23:26governments
23:27communicate
23:29with citizens
23:30from, you
23:31know,
23:32traditional
23:32mass media
23:33to MyGov,
23:34social media
23:35and direct
23:35digital outreach.
23:36How much
23:37has Mr.
23:38Modi himself
23:39changed the
23:41grammar of
23:41political
23:42communication in
23:42India?
23:45I think
23:46the first
23:46big disruption
23:47or innovation
23:48as you
23:49would like
23:50to think
23:50of it,
23:51was when
23:52he
23:53disintermediated
23:53the media,
23:55which is
23:55your industry,
23:56right?
23:56When he
23:56started reaching
23:57out to the
23:58citizens directly,
23:59and this
24:00started sometime
24:01in the mid
24:022000s in
24:03Gujarat when he
24:04was the chief
24:05minister,
24:05and you saw
24:06him, you
24:07know,
24:08live streaming
24:09his speeches
24:09on YouTube,
24:10one of the
24:10first for any
24:11politician to be
24:12doing.
24:12you would
24:13see his
24:14statements
24:14coming first
24:15on social
24:16media instead
24:16of a
24:17traditional
24:17press release
24:18and so
24:18on.
24:19So he
24:19was someone
24:20who was
24:20very comfortable
24:21with technology,
24:22someone,
24:22you know,
24:24taking the
24:24message directly
24:25to his
24:27intended
24:27stakeholders,
24:29who are the
24:29citizens of
24:30the country,
24:31using technology
24:32to reach out
24:33to them,
24:33was I think
24:34the first big
24:34innovation.
24:35The second
24:36big innovation
24:37innovation comes
24:37during the
24:382013-2014
24:39period in the
24:41run-up to the
24:41log-sub-elections
24:42where crowdsourcing
24:43happened using
24:44technology in a
24:45big way,
24:46crowdsourcing ideas
24:47for speeches,
24:48crowdsourcing ideas
24:49for the
24:49manifesto,
24:50and so on.
24:51And then that
24:51kind of,
24:52you know,
24:53led to MyGov
24:54being born in
24:542014 as a
24:55platform for
24:56crowdsourcing
24:57citizen inputs
24:58and making
24:59citizens
24:59participatory in
25:01the governance
25:01process,
25:02right?
25:02So that was the
25:03second big
25:03innovation.
25:04The third big
25:05innovation,
25:06I would say,
25:07is the use of
25:07artificial intelligence
25:08where he has
25:10traditionally,
25:11in India,
25:11you had this
25:12perception,
25:12right,
25:13that how does
25:13one become a
25:14national leader?
25:15And traditionally,
25:16the stereotype
25:17was you are
25:17someone based in
25:18Delhi,
25:18so you are on
25:19national media
25:20all the time,
25:20and hence you
25:21became a
25:21national leader.
25:22While Mr.
25:23Modi,
25:23who took the
25:23long road from
25:24Gandhinagar all
25:25the way to
25:25Delhi,
25:26was able to
25:27break the
25:28stereotype and
25:29be able to
25:30communicate with
25:31people right
25:31across India,
25:32and the last
25:33barrier,
25:33the last
25:34remaining
25:34barrier was
25:35language.
25:36And today,
25:36with artificial
25:36intelligence,
25:37he is able to
25:37break that
25:38language barrier,
25:39communicate his
25:40message, his
25:41ideas, his
25:42thoughts,
25:42directly to the
25:43people, not
25:44just in Hindi,
25:45not just in
25:46English, but in
25:47every Indian
25:47language.
25:48I think that is a
25:48phenomenal change
25:50in the manner in
25:51which leaders are
25:52communicating with
25:53citizens.
25:54You know, the
25:55Prime Minister is
25:55now speaking about
25:57Viksit Bharat's
25:582047.
25:59Having studied his
26:00political journey
26:01closely, is this
26:02now a shift from
26:03the politics of
26:04transformation to
26:05the politics of
26:06legacy?
26:10Well, I think it's
26:11too soon to speak
26:12about legacy, but I
26:14will point out to
26:15one incident way
26:17back when he was
26:18the Chief Minister
26:18of Gujarat, and he
26:20was denied the
26:21visa to travel to
26:22the US, and the
26:23Hotelier Association,
26:25which had invited
26:25him to the United
26:26States, they patched
26:28him into that
26:29conference using
26:30satellite technology
26:31with video
26:32conferencing, right?
26:33There was a
26:33satellite-based
26:34video conferencing
26:35back in the
26:352000s.
26:36And in that
26:37interaction, Mr.
26:38Modi made a very
26:39profound statement
26:41that I want to
26:43create an India
26:44where instead of
26:45Indians lining up
26:46in front of the
26:47American embassy
26:48for visas, it will
26:49be the other way
26:50around where the
26:50world lines up to
26:52take an Indian
26:52visa and come to
26:53India.
26:53I think this
26:54vision of Vixit
26:55Bharat by 2047 is
26:56not something new
26:58or for legacy.
26:59It is something that
26:59has been in his
27:00mind for a long
27:01time, and I think
27:02it has been in the
27:03making.
27:04What you are now
27:04seeing is a
27:06renewed thrust
27:07to make it a
27:08national movement
27:09where everyone
27:10feels ownership
27:11towards this idea
27:12that we need to
27:13make this developed
27:15India possible, and
27:16we all have to
27:17contribute to it.
27:17It is our shared
27:19goal, our shared
27:20mission, and I
27:21think that is what
27:21we will do it
27:23really signifies.
27:24So let me ask my
27:25last question to
27:26you.
27:27Modi's 25-year
27:28journey has also
27:29been a journey of
27:31expanding the BJP
27:32beyond its
27:33traditional social
27:34and geographical
27:35base, from
27:36Gujarat to a
27:37pan-India
27:38political force.
27:39What do you see
27:40as the single
27:41biggest political
27:42transformation of
27:43the Modi era?
27:47Well, I think
27:48clearly the
27:49Prime Minister's
27:50persona is
27:50something which
27:51is pan-India,
27:52and there's no
27:53doubt about it
27:53that that has
27:54always been the
27:56strongest card with
27:57which he has
27:58stepped forward in
27:59every election, be
28:01it at the municipal
28:01level all the way to
28:02the national level.
28:03But I think there's a
28:04larger phenomenon
28:05which I think we must
28:06recognize because it
28:07is a novelty and it
28:09is long missing in
28:09India because in India
28:10you traditionally had
28:12dynastic parties,
28:13one-family parties,
28:14parties, you know, or
28:16a film star who, you
28:18know, one-man show
28:19kind of parties, and
28:20so on.
28:21For the first time, you
28:22have a party now which
28:23is putting in place a
28:24mechanism by which
28:26talent is rising up
28:28from the ranks to
28:29take on important
28:30roles, be it in the
28:32form of the most
28:33recent BJP president,
28:36Mr. Nitin Naveen, or
28:37a whole host of
28:38leaders who are now
28:39emerging from the
28:40ranks, rising up.
28:41So that process is
28:42now institutionalized.
28:44I think that is
28:44something which is
28:46very important for
28:47Indian democracy and
28:49for the, you know, the
28:50future health of
28:51Indian democracy.
28:53All right.
28:54Thank you for joining
28:55us and sharing your
28:56views.
28:56We are putting out all
28:58the interviews on our
28:59website and also on the
29:00YouTube channel.
29:01Thanks so much for
29:01watching.