Here's how PM Narendra Modi is saving time on foreign tours: by sleeping on plane

New Delhi: To save time during his foreign tours, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started doing something which is unusual for heads of state/government.

As per a report in The Economic Times, PM Modi is making a sincere effort to spend the nights onboard Air India One rather than in hotels.

This move is helping the PM shorten his foreign trips – something for which he has come under considerable criticism at home.

During his recent three-nation tour to Belgium, the US and Saudi Arabia from March 30 to April 2, the Prime Minister slept onboard Air India One on three three nights. He spent the first night while travelling from Delhi to Brussels; then while travelling from Brussels to Washington DC; and the third night while in transit from the US capital to Riyadh.

During the tour, the PM stayed at hotels overnight only on two occasions - once in Washington and then in Riyadh.

The daily quoted a senior government official as saying that had the PM decided to spend all nights at hotels, he would have been away for six days instead of four.

As per another official, PM Modi's line of thought is: a night should be spent in a foreign hotel only if there is an engagement scheduled the next day.

And as regards jet-lag, an official explained: "Before jet lag hits reverse jet lag comes into force."