Modi in US: PM pitches India story to CEOs of 5 key companies

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 23 met leading American CEOs from five different key sectors and highlighted the economic opportunities in India.

Modi, who arrived in Washington on  Wednesday on an official visit held one-on-one meetings with CEOs of Qualcomm, Adobe, First Solar, General Atomics and Blackstone.

Modi will also hold the first face-to-face meeting with President Joe Biden and his deputy Kamala Harris.

Two of the CEOs are Indian-Americans — Shantanu Narayen from Adobe and Vivek Lall from General Atomics. Three others are Cristiano E Amon from Qualcomm, Mark Widmar from First Solar, and Stephen A Schwarzman from Blackstone.

While Narayen reflects the IT and digital industry that the Indian government is treating as priority, Modi’s meeting with Lall is significant as General Atomics is the pioneer in military drone technology and the biggest manufacturer of military drones, which the US provides only to its key allies and partners.

India is in the process of procuring a significant number of drones for its armed forces. It has a few drones on lease from General Atomics.

The meeting with Cristiano Amon of chip giant Qualcomm assumes significance, given India’s push for the 5G technology to be safe and secure. The San Diego-based company creates semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology.

As India is taking big steps in the use of solar power to meet its energy needs, the meeting with Mark Widmar is important as First Solar is a leading global provider of comprehensive photovoltaic (“PV”) solar solutions, which use its advanced module and system technology.

Stephen A Schwarzman is chairman, CEO and co-founder of Blackstone, one of the world’s leading investment firms investing capital on behalf of pension funds, large institutions and individuals.