Narendra Damodardas Modi serves as the incumbent Prime Minister of India. He is best known for emerging from a trivial background to this position. The most prominent leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party is also known as a Member of Parliament from Varanasi. He was the Chief Minister of Gujarat for four chronological terms. He was highly appreciated for his economic policies as the Gujarat chief minister.
In 2014, he ruled the BJP party in the general election and it provided the party with a majority in The Lok Sabha.
Narendra Modi is the second most followed person on social platforms after Barack Obama. He also serves as a member of the Rastriya Sawamsevak Sangh.
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Early life and childhood
Narendra Modi was born on September 17 in the year 1950, in a district of Bombay State called Vadnagar. He was born to Damodardas Mulchand (1915-1989) and Heeraben Modi.(1920-1989) He was an ordinary boy from a middle class family, the third of four children, and went through trying economic times, a child. As he stated in 2015 when he met Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook Headquarters, Modi’s mother would toil incessantly washing dishes of various households to earn income to support herself and her children.
Modi would help his father sell tea at Vadnagar Railway Station. He would later help his brother sell tea at a bus terminus. There was nothing exceptional about his childhood except that he got engaged with the Rastriya Sawamsevak Sangh (RSS). He started attending the training sessions at the age of eight. Modi’s involvement with RSS later helped him grow politically.
Narendra Modi – Education
As a child, Modi showed remarkable interest in debates. He was an average student but would hold the class when he would take part in debates. He also had a keen interest in theater.
Modi completed his higher secondary education in the year 1967. At the age of eighteen, he left his home and travelled across North- Eastern India. He decided to roam in the Himalayas leaving behind his family members and an abridged marriage. In late 1969 or early 1970, Modi moved to Ahmadabad.
Modi started campaigning for the RSS, after the Indo-Pakistani war, in 1971. He moved into Hedgewar Bhawan. He used to make tea and breakfast for senior colleagues. He also used to clean the building.
In 1978, he received a degree in political science followed by a distance education course. He completed his master degree in political science from the Gujarat University, after five years.
Career achievements
In 1985, RSS assigned Modi to the Bharatiya Janata Party. Modi became the organizing secretary of the party’s Gujarat unit, in 1988. After seven years, he was shifted to New Delhi as BJP’s national secretary. Modi was named as a replacement of Keshubhai Patel, the Chief Minister of Gujarat, in 2001.
He was tabbed to rule the BJP’s election campaign of 2014 to the Lok Sabha, in June 2013. He and his team won 282 of the 534 seats in the Lok Sabha in May 2014.
As a prime minister, Narendra Modi launched several economic policies such as Make in India, Digital India and Digital Literacy. He also introduced various health and sanitation schemes such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan along with some defence policies.
Controversies
Narendra Modi has courted controversies ever since he became the chief minister of Gujarat. While his economic policies for improving the state were praised, he was accused of turning a blind eye to the Godhra riots in Gujarat (2002). He has been criticized for keeping his marriage a secret and not validating his wife for a long time. There has been a controversy about the legitimacy of his education degree, as well.
Narendra Modi – Wife
In 1968, Modi got married to Jashodaben Narendrabhai Modi. He was only 13 when he was engaged to her. Later, they got married when he was 18. But Modi would spend little time with her, as he would travel to ashrams. Reports say the marriage was not consummated and Modi kept the marriage a secret because he would never be able to become a pracharak in Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) which would will its member to be unmarried. Later, in the 2014 general election, when Modi filed his nomination for parliamentary seat, he acknowledged Jashodaben as his wife.
Narendra Modi – Salary
Narendra Modi earns a salary of Rs. 19 lakhs or Rs.1.9 million ($30000), which makes him the 12th highest paid leader in the world. In other words, Narenda Modi’s salary is Rs. 1.5 lakhs per month, excluding perks. He is one of the modestly paid leaders in the world, when you check his stature in popular circles, trailing well behind his American and Chinese counterparts.
Net Worth
Narendra Modi’s net worth is Rs.1.41 crore (movable and immovable assets). According to the details of assets shared by the Prime Minister’s Office in 2016, he has just Rs. 4700 as cash in bank. The net worth of Rs. 1.41 crore is thanks to the appreciation of the residential property and movable assets. The value of a property in Gandhinagar, which he bought, 13 years ago, has risen to an estimated Rs. 1 crore.
The rest of the Rs.41 lakhs, as movable assets, comprise his investments like tax saving bonds (Rs 20000), National Savings Certificates (Rs. 5.45 lakh) and life insurance worth Rs. 1.99 lakh. His bank deposits include Rs. 94,093 with SBI, Rs. 30,347 with Rajkot Nagrik Sahakari Co-op and fixed deposits worth Rs.30,72,017 with SBI.
The prime minister of India is one of the most simple living yet powerful personalities in the world with no personal cars, aircraft or yachts.
House
Modi’s prime workplace and official house, known as 7, RCR, is situated on Race Course Road, New Delhi. He also has an apartment situated in Ahmadabad.
