Ten things to know about PM Narendra Modi's Silicon Valley visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met tech honchos of Silicon Valley on Sunday (September, 27, 2015) and pitched for 'Digital India' plan. The leaders, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google chief executive Sundar Pichai and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, hailed the prime minister for his vision of digitisation and innovation in India.

Below are the 10 key things you must know about the visit:

• In an effort to push Digital India initiative, chipmaker Qualcomm said it will invest $150 million for Indian start-ups in the mobile and internet-of-everything (IoE) ecosystem. "We share Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to transform India into a digitally-empowered society and knowledge economy," Qualcomm executive chairman Paul E Jacobs.
• Prime Minister Modi also invited Apple to set up a manufacturing base in India and its CEO Tim Cook responded positively, according to Indian officials. Foxconn, which is Apple's largest manufacturer, has decided to set up a manufacturing base in India, he noted.
• Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said it will announce cloud computing systems from data centers in India next week, calling it a "big milestone". In his remarks, Nadella said Microsoft's plan is to partner with the Indian Government to bring in low-cost broadband connectivity to 5,00,000 villages in India.
• Google announced that it will soon help India set up base for free Wi-Fi at 500 railway stations.  Google CEO Sunder Pichai also announced that next month Google would make it possible for people to type in 10 different languages in India, including Gujarati. India-born Pichai said Google is also working on many connectivity projects.
• The prime minister also visted Facebook headquarters and attended a Q&A session last night, as part of his tour. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he considers India a "temple" of knowledge from where he took inspiration to rebuild Facebook when the company went through a "rough patch" and was on the verge of being sold over 10 years ago.
• Prime Minister Modi said from Facebook headquarters that social media has huge strengths and benefits which can help governments take corrective steps if any wrong decision is taken.
• Ahimsa is the greatest Dharma, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on the Facebook's Real Wall at its headquarters here when he visited for a townhall question and answer session.
• The prime minister also visited the Google campus where he was given a tour of some of the latest products and forward-looking researches being done by the search engine giant. "Projects for progress," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said of the various projects which were shown to Modi by Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
• There is a hunger in India to have more information and being able to connect, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said as he promised to deliver high-speed internet at 500 railway stations in the country.
• Prime Minister Modi also said that India's own ecosystem of start-up is evolving rapidly which is driven by energy, enterprise and innovation of youth. India now has the institutions, incentives and interest for new ventures, Modi said at an event organised by NASSCOM, also attended by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.

(With inputs from PTI)