In a two-hour exclusive interview with the TIME magazine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’ tears up as he speaks about his 'first inspiration', talks tough on terrorism and with pride reflects on his ambitions from India. Here are a few takeaways.
"I used to sell tea in a railway coach as a child. My mother used to wash utensils and do lowly household work in the houses of others to earn a livelihood. For me, poverty, in a way, was the first inspiration of my life … I decided that I would not live for myself but would live for others."
"We should not look at terrorism from the nameplates -- which group they belong to, what are their names, what is their geographical location, who are the victims of terrorism…I think we should not see them in individual pieces…. I think the other thing that we need to undertake as a focused measure is to delink terrorism from religion."
Read the complete TIME interview here
"My government’s coming to power should be viewed in the context of the developments of the 10 years of the last government vs 10 months of my government … The whole world is, once again, excited and enthusiastic about India and the opportunities that India represents."
"My philosophy, the philosophy of my party and the philosophy of my government is Sabka saath, sabka vikas (Together with all, progress for all). My government will not tolerate or accept any discrimination based on caste, creed and religion."
"What essentially I have tried to do, and I think we have managed to do that, is to convert the country from a single-pillar growth nation to a nation that has 30 pillars of growth; these are the 29 states in India and the federal Centre."
"Given the current economic situation in the world, we are at a stage where we cooperate with China at the international stage but we also compete with China when it comes to commerce and trade."
Time cover story: How Narendra Modi wants to change India
