This Article is From Sep 24, 2015

For PM Modi From Google's Sundar Pichai, a Video Welcome

California: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the US for a five-day visit, India-born Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a Youtube video that there was excitement in the Silicon Valley, and not just among Googlers.

"We're looking forward to your remarks at the SAP Centre in San Jose, and also when you come to Google," Mr Pichai said.

"The bond between India and the Silicon Valley is strong. India has long been an exporter of talent to tech companies. The products built by Indian graduates from IIT and other institutions have helped revolutionise the world. But it is India that's now undergoing its own revolution."

In the next few years, he continued, about 50 million women and 20 million small businesses are expected to get online for the first time.

"Prime Minister Modi's Digital India vision is central to this revolution. It focuses on connecting the 1.2 billion people in India. It has received tremendous support in India and in Silicon Valley," Mr Pichai said.

When the 43-year-old IIT alumnus was named CEO of a reorganised Google in August, PM Modi had congratulated him in a tweet.

During his visit to Silicon Valley, the first by any Indian prime minister, Mr Modi is scheduled to meet Mr Pichai, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook, among others. He will address the India-US Startup Konnect and share his vision on 'Start up India, Stand up India'.

A social media enthusiast, PM Modi is expected to pitch his Digital India dream when he meets the Valley giants.

He is set to fly to California after attending the UN General Assembly in New York. It is the first visit to the West Coast by an Indian PM since 1982, and comes at a time India-born CEOs are running Microsoft, Google and Adobe.
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