On Facebook’s campus on Sunday, two of the world’s most powerful men used the high-tech company’s pulpit to promote a mutually beneficial platform: the growing power and influence of social media and the future of the digital economy in India. Modi said after meeting with Obama “we have resolved to further deepen cooperation on counter-terrorism and radicalism”.
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USA media gave pride of place to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s interactions with Silicon Valley’s tech titans and his rockstar-like reception by the Indian diaspora, with the New York Times saying he had conquered the tech Mecca.
Attending a question and answer “town-hall” session with Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg at their office at Hackers Square here, the prime minister also said a lot had to be done to bridge the digital divide in India.
Modi’s visit to the United States included a trip down the West Coast. We went to our neighbors’ houses nearby (to) clean dishes, fill water, do hard chores.
“It’s hard to imagine that a tea seller has become the leader of the world’s largest democracy”, Modi told the crowd. “This is actually brain deposit and it would serve its motherland at an appropriate time”, he said addressing the Indian community at the packed SAP Centre here.
Talking about India’s aggressive push for the cause of climate change, Modi said, “Our measures include not just a plan to add 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022, but a development strategy that will enable us to transition to a more sustainable energy mix”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi early on Tuesday left for home after concluding his highly successful seven-day visit that took him to Ireland and the U.S. and also saw India inching closer to realising its dream of becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
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Modi, who wraps up his historic visit to California’s high-tech region today, was greeted by fans chanting his name, but also by protestors outside concerned about digital privacy, gay rights and his role in the 2002 anti-Muslim riots that killed more than 1,000 people in Gujarat. Now, India is seen as the new China, lush with talent and resources. Indian-born CEOs Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai of Microsoft Corp and Google were among those who moderated a panel before Modi addressed a 350-member business leaders’ dinner.
