A little over a month since Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a tame interview to TimesNow, he was back on our TV screens, this time speaking to Rahul Joshi, Chief Executive Officer of the Reliance-owned Network18 – the same day that the prime minister's face was questionably plastered all over front-page advertisements for the newly launched Reliance Jio. As with the TimesNow interview, there was little in the way of major news emerging from the conversation, but viewers did get another opportunity to hear from the prime minister.

The interview covered many different subjects, allowing Modi to reiterate his newly vocal approach to protecting Dalits while also giving the prime minister a chance to debut his line on the Goods and Services Tax, which was barely touched upon in the Independence Day speech.

Joshi picked up an interesting thread by asserting that, although there is economic growth, the economy is still tepid. He asked Modi what message the prime minister would like to give to private industry and foreign investors at this juncture.

The response was telling. Modi used an anecdote to explain how he was willing to look beyond political gains in order to do what was right for the country. He insisted that he had taken the "tough path" in 2014.



What was so tough? The tempting chance to announce in even greater detail just how terribly the United Progressive Alliance government had run the country. Modi insisted that this was proof that his government doesn't take shortcuts and that he should be trusted to take difficult decisions.

Remember, this was a question about what message Modi would give investors today. His response, in full: