PM Modi meets chief executives of five US companies

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Chief Executives Officers  (CEOs) of major US-based companies on the first day of visit to the United States on Thursday.

The Prime Minister held meetings with Stephen Schwarzman, Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of Blackstone; Vivek Lall, Chief Executive of General Atomics; Mark Widmar, CEO of First Solar; Shantanu Narayen, President and CEO of Adobe; and Cristiano Amon, CEO of Qualcomm.

Blackstone CEO Schwarzman briefed PM Modi about Blackstone's ongoing projects in India, and the firm's interest in further investments in the infrastructure and real estate sectors. "Promising investment opportunities in India including those under National Infrastructure Pipeline and National Monetisation Pipeline were also discussed," noted an official PMO statement.

While General Atomics CEO Vivel Lall and the Prime Minister talked about strengthening the defence technology sector in India. Lall appreciated the recent policy changes to accelerate defence and emerging technology manufacturing and augment capacity building in India.

PM Modi and First Solar CEO Mark Widmar discussed India's renewable energy landscape and the country's target of 450 GW electricity generation from renewable sources by 2030. They also talked about First Solar's interest in setting up manufacturing facilities in India using First Solar's unique thin-film technology by availing the recently launched Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme.

The Prime Minister and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen discussed the firm's ongoing collaboration and future investment plans in India. "Discussions also focused on India's flagship programme Digital India, and use of emerging technologies in sectors like health, education and R&D," noted the PMO.

Discussion regarding investment opportunities offered in India's telecommunications and electronics sector took place between PM Modi and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon. This included the recently launched PLI Scheme for Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) as well as developments in the semiconductor supply chain in India.

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