Namo's interview to 'India Today' has usual dosage of 'Moditva phenomenon': the best is --- "If you have to, draw a line in stone. It is hard, but let's make a beginning"

 "Makhan par lakir to sab karte hai. Karni hai to pathar par lakir karo. Kathin hai to kya hua, shuruat to kare 

(It is easy to draw a line in butter. If you have to, draw a line in stone. It is hard, but let's make a beginning). This is what I believe in, which gives me the conviction to take on difficult and uncomfortable tasks,)" PM Narendra Modi told 'India Today' when asked about dealing with difficult sectors such as cleanliness and sanitation.

"Evaluating my journey through a single year may not give a correct picture because there is a progressive unfolding of my vision and plans. When I start something, I know the endpoint. 

But I never announce the final destination or blueprint in the beginning. So, what you see today is not what I've worked on. A far bigger picture will unfold finally. I work on a big canvas. 

Like an artist, I start from one point, but at the time the final picture can't be seen," he said.

He also added that when the Union government gave its assent to construct the Bharat Mandapam in the national capital, nobody thought that it would serve as the venue of the G20 Summit.

"Take the example of the Statue of Unity (in Gujarat). When I announced that we would build an 182-foot statue, many thought it had to do with 182 seats in the Gujarat Assembly. Some sections thought this was done to please a community ahead of the elections. 

But see how it has developed into an entire tourism ecosystem, with something for people of all age groups and interests. Just a couple of days back, it saw 80,000 visitors in one day, this is the level of its popularity. I had promised only one thing, but I delivered dozens of things there," he said. 

"Let’s put allegations aside and discuss the facts. Despite two years of a once-in-a-century pandemic and global conflicts disrupting global value chains and even causing recessionary pressures across the world, India has shown remarkable resilience," PM Modi said on opposition's charge on lack of job.  

He said that infrastructure creation is happening at a "never-seen-before pace, and all sectors are doing much better than how they were 10 years ago".  

"It is well-known that investments in infrastructure have a large multiplier impact on growth and employment. Hence, we have constantly increased capital investment outlay. The budget of 2023-24 has increased it steeply to Rs 10 lakh crore, up from Rs 1.9 lakh crore in 2013-14. I believe you should enlighten your readers on how this expenditure is productive and creates so many opportunities for the common man," the Prime Minister said. 

As per the latest data by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, India’s retail inflation stood at 5.55 per cent in November after falling to a four-month low of 4.8 per cent in October.

The inflation figure remains within the Reserve Bank of India's acceptable range of 2-6 per cent.

"Let’s put allegations aside and discuss the facts. Despite two years of a once-in-a-century pandemic and global conflicts disrupting global value chains and even causing recessionary pressures across the world, India has shown remarkable resilience," he said. 

Modi said the BJP's choice of 'fresh faces' as the chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh is not a new trend.

"I am the best example of this practice within the BJP. When I became the Chief Minister of Gujarat, I had no prior administrative experience and was not even elected to the legislative assembly."

"There is a consensus among the people, the experts, the opinion makers and friends from the media too, that our country doesn’t need a mili-juli sarkar. 

We have lost 30 years due to instability resulting from mili-juli sarkars. People have seen the lack of governance, the appeasement politics, corruption in the era of mili-juli sarkars," he told India Today magazine.