I have daily appraisal sessions... demanding boss: Jaishankar on working with PM Modi

EAM S Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at an event on Sunday revealed that he has 'daily appraisal sessions' and also that PM Modi is a very demanding boss.

When asked by the interviewer, S Jaishankar said, "I have daily appraisal sessions.In a way, I would say he's honestly a demanding boss. I say that because he prepares. If you are discussing something, you have to be fully prepared. You have to know what you're talking about to make your argument or case. You must stand your ground and you must have the data. A second characteristic I would say is that he is a very interactive boss.I have enjoyed working with him because he takes a call and then gives you that latitude. During the Ukraine crisis, he took a call that we need to get people out. Do what it takes. Use the Air Force. Use civil aviation. Talk to people. Tell me what I have to do. If I have to make a phone call, I will do. If you have to send ministers out there to do so. He gives you that operational freedom.It's not like, he's not tracking you, but he's not micromanaging you. I've enjoyed the experience of this job."

#WATCH | Mumbai: When asked how is PM Modi as a boss, EAM Dr S Jaishankar says "I have daily appraisal sessions...In a way, I would say he's honestly a demanding boss. I say that because he prepares. If you're discussing something, you have to be fully prepared. You have to know pic.twitter.com/Np98WrJP4v

ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2024

Meanwhile, speaking at the silver jubilee celebrations of the Aditya Birla Group's Scholarships programme in Mumbai, Jaishankar said while a lot of countries are nervous about the US -- following the return of Donald Trump as President -- India is not one among them.

"Yes, there is a shift. We are ourselves an example of the shift... if you look at our economic weight, you look at our economic ranking, you look at even Indian corporates, their reach, their presence, Indian professionals, which I spoke about. So no question there is a rebalancing," Jaishankar said in response to a question on the reset in the global power dynamic that was playing out amid the shift in the balance of power from the west to the east.

"And to my mind, it was inevitable," he said, adding, "because once these countries after the colonial period got their independence, they started making their own policy choices, then they were bound to grow." "The part which is not inevitable is that some grew faster, some grew slower, some grew better, and there the quality of governance and the quality of leadership came in. So, there is, in a sense, therefore, the constant and the variable.

"There is a trend towards a more diverse, multipolar world. But there is also, you know, a period when countries really surge ahead. I mean, it's like what happened in the corporate world as well." He, however, said the industrialised economies in the west cannot be ignored and remain prime investment targets.

"But do remember one thing, the older, the western economies, the older industrialised economies, they have not gone away. They still count, they are still prime investment targets. They are big markets, strong technology centres, hubs for innovation. So let's recognise the shift, but let's not get carried away and kind of overstate it and distort our own understanding of the world," the minister said.

Speaking on the India-US relationship and Trump's win, he said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first three calls, I think, that President (elect) Trump took." India and Prime Minister Modi have built rapport with multiple presidents, he said.

"For him (Modi) there's something natural in terms of how he forges those relationships. So that's helped hugely. And I think the changes in India have helped as well," he said, when asked how he sees the US presidential election outcome impacting India-US ties, especially given Modi's strong personal rapport with the US President-elect. "I know today a lot of countries are nervous about the US, let's be honest about it. We are not one of them," Jaishankar said.