NEW DELHI: In his first-ever podcast appearance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath on the “People by WTF” channel.
The extensive two-hour discussion covered various aspects of the Prime Minister’s life, including his early years, education, political competition, handling stress, setbacks, and risk management abilities.
Sharing the podcast on X, PM Modi said, “an enjoyable conversation with Nikhil Kamath, covering various subjects. Do watch”.
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Watch the full interview here:
‘Nervous’ Kamath hosts PM Modi’s first podcast
In the podcast, Kamath expressed his nervousness in Hindi, saying, “I am sitting here in front of you and talking, I feel nervous. It’s a tough conversation for me.” The Prime Minister acknowledged with a smile, responding, “This is my first podcast, I don’t know how it’ll go with your audience.”
Discussing his early life, the Prime Minister revealed, “I used to wash the clothes of all my family members. Because of that, I was allowed to go to the pond..” He also recounted inviting his friends and teachers to the chief minister’s residence.
“When I became the chief minister, I wanted to invite my old friends to the CM house. I invited all of them, but I didn’t enjoy it because I was trying to find my friends in them, while they were seeing me as the CM,” the Prime Minister said.
I am a human not God, says PM Modi
PM Modi acknowledged that whilst humans can make mistakes, they should not act with harmful intentions.
“When I became the CM, in one of me speeches, I had said that I will leave no stone unturned in my efforts. Secondly, I will not do anything for myself. Third, I am a human, I may make mistakes, but I will not make mistakes with bad intentions. I made them my life’s mantras. It is natural to make mistakes, after all I am a human, I am not God, but will not do wrong intentionally,” he said.
I hit ground zero during Godhra incident as a common man, says PM
The Prime Minister recounted the February 24, 2002 Godhra incident, narrating the ordeal as a newly-elected MLA.
“I became MLA for first time on 24 February, 2002. Just 3 days and a train was burnt in Godhra. I decided to hit ground zero. Officers denied citing unavailability of the helicopter. They arranged one but said that they it wasn’t for VIPs. I said, I’m not a VIP, I’m a common man,” he said.
“I took a single-engine chopper of ONGC despite the risk and reached Godhra. I saw those painful scenes, I controlled my emotions as I was the CM,” he added.
Modi, Xi and Chinese philosopher Hiuen Tsang ‘Vadnagar’ connection
He also shared an interesting exchange with Chinese President Xi Jinping from 2014.
“When I became the PM in 2014, leaders from across the world make courtesy calls… Chinese President Xi also made a courtesy call in which he said that he wants to come to India. I said ‘you are welcome, you must visit. He said I want to visit Gujarat, your village Vadnagar… He said ‘you know why? Me and you share a special bond’… He said Chinese philosopher Hiuen Tsang resided the longest in your village and when he returned to China, he resided in my village,” he said.
One should enter politics not with ambition but with a mission: PM
During the conversation, the Prime Minister emphasised the importance of public service-oriented individuals joining politics, stating they should be driven by mission rather than personal ambition.
He further emphasised that one should enter politics not out of personal ambition but with a mission.
“Good people should come into politics. They should come with mission not with ambition. Mission should be above ambition,” PM Modi said.
PM Modi highlights difference between entrepreneur and politician
Discussing the difference between entrepreneurship and politics, he explained that entrepreneurs focus on personal and business growth, while politicians must prioritise societal welfare through self-sacrifice.
“Entrepreneur’s training is to how to grow, in politics it should be how to sacrifice. There (in entrepreneurship) it is how to make your company number one. In politics it should be nation first. This is the difference,” he said.
He emphasised that political involvement extends beyond electoral participation, noting that society embraces politicians who demonstrate a genuine commitment to national interests.
“Society accept nation first people. Life in politics is not easy. We have a worker called Ashok Bhatt. He lived in a small house all his life. He has been a minister. But He did not own a car. To enter politics is not necessary about contest election. The work is about winning the minds of people. To do that one has to live among them. Such people are still there in politics,” he said.
Vision of maximum governance, minimumgovernment
PM Modi clarified the interpretation of “minimum government, maximum governance”. He explained that the concept focuses on enhancing governmental departmental efficiency, which led to the establishment of separate ministries for skills, cooperatives, and fisheries.
The administration eliminated 40,000 compliances to streamline operations across various departments.
“We often misunderstand the concept of minimum government, maximum governance. Some believe that minimum government means fewer ministers and fewer employees. However, this is not my understanding. I made different ministries for skill, cooperatives, and fisheries. When I say minimum government…my point is that we took away 40,000 compliances to increase the speed of work. Otherwise, the different departments will demand the same things. If one department has it, use it for all,” PM Modi said during a podcast conversation with social media influencer Nikhil Kamath.
“I have abolished 1,500 old laws. I have changed laws that criminalised certain things. This is my vision of minimum government and maximum governance. I am witnessing it all happen,” he further said.
Although the Prime Minister regularly hosts ‘Mann Ki Baat’ and appears in television interviews, this marks his initial venture into podcasting.