New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared insights into his decision-making process on the popular Lex Fridman Podcast, hosted by MIT research scientist Lex Fridman. In the three-hour-long conversation, PM Modi attributed his decision-making to his extensive travel across India.
Mr Fridman, whose YouTube channel has over 4.5 million subscribers and nearly 820 million views, asked PM Modi: “When facing a high-stakes choice, with no clear precedence, you know, a lot of uncertainty, having to balance input, how do you make decisions?”
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To which, the Prime Minister replied: “I’m perhaps the only politician in India who has stayed overnight in around 85 to 90 per cent of the districts across the country. This was before my current role. I used to travel extensively. I learned a lot from those experiences. They gave me first-hand knowledge of the ground realities and grassroots-level issues-not something asked or heard, or learned merely from books.”
PM Modi said that his approach to governance is unencumbered by past baggage.
“From a governance perspective, I carry no baggage of any kind. I don’t carry any baggage that weighs me down or forces me to act a certain way. Thirdly, I have a simple yardstick for decisions: my country first.”
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Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, he said: “Mahatma Gandhi once said that if you’re ever unsure when making a decision, think of the poorest person’s face, remember them, and ask yourself, ‘Will this help them?’ Then your decision will be right.”
The Prime Minister cited his approach during the COVID-19 pandemic as an example of his decision-making style. He recalled the pressure he faced from global experts, economists, and political leaders urging him to follow certain policies.
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“I had Nobel Prize winners advising me, giving countless economic examples from around the world. They’d say, ‘This country is doing this, that country did that, you should do it too.’ Renowned economists constantly bombarded me with suggestions. Political parties pressured me relentlessly, urging me to spend huge amounts of money,” PM Modi said.
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