New York: During his visit to the US, Prime Minister Modi met a galaxy for eminent people from across sections. Corporates, social workers, Scientists, Tech giants made a bee line to catch up with the Indian Prime Minister.
The first day saw Elon Musk, tech pioneer, business magnate and CEO of Tesla Inc. & SpaceX; owner, CTO and chairman of Twitter; founder of the Boring company and X-corp; co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI, today, in New York, USA, call on the Prime Minister.
Prime Minister appreciated Musk’s efforts at making technology accessible and affordable in various sectors. He invited Musk to explore opportunities in India for investments in electric mobility and rapidly expanding commercial space sector.
Second to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi was distinguished American mathematical statistician, academician, public intellectual and author, Prof. Nicholas Taleb, today, in New York, USA. Modi complemented Prof. Taleb on his success as a public intellectual and for bringing complex ideas of risk and fragility into popular conversation.
In his conversation with Prof. Taleb, Prime Minister highlighted risk-taking abilities of India’s young entrepreneurs and growing start-up ecosystem in India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Gary E. Dickerson, President and CEO of Applied Materials on 21 June 2023 in Washington DC. He invited Dickerson to India for contributing in strengthening the semiconductor ecosystem in India. Prime Minister also invited Applied Materials for development of process technology and advanced packaging capabilities in India. Both discussed potential of Applied Materials’ collaboration with academic institutions in India to create skilled workforce.
Prime Minister Modi met H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., CEO of General Electric. He appreciated GE for its long-term commitment of manufacturing in India. Both Prime Minister and Mr. Culp, Jr. discussed GE’s greater technology collaboration to promote manufacturing in India. He invited GE to play greater role in aviation and renewable energy sector in India.
Next he met Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO of Micron in Washington DC. Modi invited Micron Technology to boost semiconductor manufacturing in India. He noted that India can provide competitive advantages in various parts of the semiconductor supply chain.
Prime Minister also met Falguni Shah, Indian American singer, composer and Grammy award winner in New York. He lauded Shah for her song ‘Abundance in Millets’ that raises awareness regarding healthy and environment friendly millets. Modi appreciated her for bringing the people of India and USA together through her music.
Prime Minister later met a group of leading US experts from the health sector in New York. They discussed various matters pertaining to the domain of health including use of digital technologies for quality healthcare, greater focus on integrative medicine & better healthcare preparedness.
The experts who participated in the interaction were:
• Dr. Peter Hotez, Founding Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, Texas
• Dr. Sunil A. David, CEO of ViroVax based in Texas
• Dr. Stephen Klasko, Advisor to General Catalyst
• Dr. Lawton R. Burns, Professor of Healthcare Management, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
• Dr. Vivian S. Lee, Founding President, Verily Life Sciences
• Dr. Peter Agre, Physician, Nobel laureate and molecular biologist, at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met experts from several leading US think-tanks, in New York, USA. Modi and the experts discussed a range of developmental and geo-political issues. He invited them to enhance their presence in India as it embarks on its transformation during the Amritkaal. The various think-tank experts who participated in the interaction include:
o Mr. Michael Froman, President-designate and Distinguished Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), New York
o Mr. Daniel Russel, Vice President for International Security and Diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute, New York
o Dr. Max Abrahms, Associate Professor of Political Science at Northeastern University, Boston
o Mr. Jeff M. Smith, Director, Asian Studies Center, The Heritage Foundation, DC
o Mr. Elbridge Colby, Co-founder of ‘The Marathon Initiative’, based in Washington DC
o Mr. Guru Sowle, Founder-member, Director (Indo-US Affairs), Indus International Research Foundation, Texas
A group of eminent US academics too met PM Modi in New York. The academics hailed from diverse fields of agriculture, marketing, engineering, health, science & technology. They discussed possibilities of enhancing research collaborations and two-way academic exchanges under India’s New Education Policy. The Academics shared perspectives and experiences from their respective areas of expertise with the Prime Minister. The academics who participated in the interaction were:
• Ms. Chandrika Tandon, Chair of the Board, NYU Tandon School of Engineering
• Dr. Neeli Bendapudi, President of Pennsylvania State University
• Dr. Pradeep Khosla, Chancellor, University of California, San Diego
• Dr. Satish Tripathi, President of the University at Buffalo
• Professor Jagmohan Raju, Professor of Marketing, Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania
• Dr. Madhav V. Rajan, Dean, Booth School of Business, University of Chicago
• Professor Rattan Lal, Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science; Director, CFAES Rattan Lal Centre for Carbon Management and Sequestration, Ohio State University
• Dr. Anurag Mairal, Adjunct Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University & Faculty Fellow and Lead for Technology Innovation & Impact at Center for Innovation & Global Health, Stanford University
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi also met Nobel laureate Prof Paul Romer, American economist and policy entrepreneur. Both held discussions on India’s digital journey, including the use of Aadhar and innovative tools like Digilocker. They also discussed various initiatives being undertaken by India for urban development.
Modi also met Neil de Grasse Tyson, leading American astrophysicist, author and science communicator. Prime Minister and Tyson exchanged views on inculcating scientific temperament among youth. They discussed at length India’s rapid progress in space sector including various space exploration missions being undertaken by India. Modi and Tyson discussed opportunities for private sector and academic collaboration under India’s newly launched National Space Policy.
The Indian Prime Minister then met Ray Dalio, American investor, author and co-founder of the hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates. In his conversation with Dalio, Prime Minister highlighted the reforms undertaken by the government to foster economic growth, including reduction of compliances and decriminalisation of large number of legal provisions. Prime Minister invited Dalio for further investing in India.
Next to call on the Prime Minister was Prof. Robert Thurman, American Buddhist scholar, author, and Padma Shri awardee in New York. Both exchanged perspectives on how Buddhist values can act as guiding light for finding solutions to global challenges. They also discussed India’s Buddhist connect and efforts being made by India for preservation of Buddhist heritage.
