Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met a group of five top American corporate leaders on a one-on-one basis from a range of diverse sectors ranging from drones to 5G, semiconductor, and solar. By highlighting the vast opportunities in India, PM Modi encouraged the CEOs of Qualcomm Ventures, Adobe, First Solar, General Atomics and Blackstone to step up their investments in the country.
PM Modi wrote on Twitter, “Through the morning, had extensive discussions with top CEOs and business leaders on investment in India. They were appreciative of India’s reform trajectory. Closer economic linkages between India and USA benefit the people of our nations”. Here’s a look at the CEOs he met and what they discussed:
Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon
The Indian Prime Minister first met Cristiano R Amon, President and CEO of tech giant Qualcomm Ventures, and discussed issues such as 5G, electronics and telecom manufacturing PLI schemes and measures to strengthen the innovation ecosystem.
PM also discussed India’s new drone policy and asked Qualcomm to trust Indian talent and start manufacturing with the advantage of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme it has to offer.
Qualcomm Ventures, which has operations specialising in wireless modem and multimedia software, Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and embedded applications, and digital media networking solutions. In India, it has invested in companies that address key domestic issues from dairy, transportation to defence.
Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayan
Prime Minister Narendra Modi next met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen and discussed the company’s ongoing activities in India. In his discussion with PM Modi, Shantanu appreciated India’s efforts in fighting Covid-19 and particularly in rapid vaccination.
The Adobe CEO expressed interest to contribute to India’s 75th anniversary of independence. He also expressed a desire to bring video, animation to every child in India. They also discussed Adobe’s ongoing collaboration and future investment plans in India. In addition, they also focused on India’s flagship programme Digital India, and the use of emerging technologies in sectors like health, education and R&D.
First Solar CEO Mark Widmar
Next in the line to meet PM Modi was the CEO of power manufacturing company First Solar, Mark Widmar and they discussed India’s renewable energy landscape. Narendra Modi further elaborated on India’s efforts to harness solar energy, including the ‘One World, One sun and One grid’ initiative and investment opportunities in the sector.
Discussions also took place about First Solar’s interest in setting up manufacturing facilities in India using their unique thin-film technology by availing the recently launched Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, as well as integrating India into global supply chains.
General Atomics CEO Vivek Lall
Prime Minister Narendra Modi then met General Atomics CEO Vivek Lall and discussed ways to advance defence manufacturing and the use of emerging technologies to increase India’s building capacity.
PM Modi spoke about India’s liberal drone policy and the opportunity in the field of manufacturing due to PLI scheme with Vivek Lall, who said that India was an attractive destination for the manufacturing of drones. He also said that a dedicated drone hub can be created in India to support the entire ecosystem of drones.
Blackstone CEO Stephen A Schwarzman
The last CEO PM Modi met on Thursday was Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, who briefed him about the company’s ongoing projects in India and its interest in further investments in the infrastructure and real estate sectors.
He briefed Modi about the New York-based alternative investment management company‘s ongoing projects in India, and their interest in further investments in the infrastructure and real estate sectors.
