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Adobe, Qualcomm, First Solar and more: CEOs of 5 major US companies meet PM Modi, here is what they said

Vivek Lall, CEO of General Atomics expressed confidence in India’s policy reforms. In the meeting, PM Modi elaborated on India’s liberal drone policy and the opportunity in the field of manufacturing due to the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a packed schedule on the first day of his three-day tour. The PM apart from meeting US Vice President Kamala Harris also had back-to-back individual meetings with CEOs of five major global companies from diverse sectors.

Post the marathon meetings on Thursday, PM Modi Tweeted, “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 what was discussed in these meetings 

Adobe

In a meeting with Shantanu Narayen, Chairman, President and CEO of Adobe, PM Modi took stock of the company’s ongoing activities in India and exchanged ideas to leverage ‘Digital India’ flagship programme in sectors like health, education and R&D.

When asked about India’s startup scenario, Narayen said, “As an Indian American, it is a matter of pride to see the Prime Minister encourage startups and investments in India. Startups in India have global aspirations. I am a huge supporter and fan of what he does.”

The CEO also appreciated India’s focus on educational and digital transformations. “Any reformation in education and digital literacy in India will help Adobe,” Narayen remarked. 

Adobe’s biggest operations after North America is in India with over 6,000 employees across its campuses in Noida and Bengaluru. Additionally, initiatives such as Adobe’s Grassroots Innovation Challenge and Women-in-Technology Scholarship are working in sync with the ongoing digital revolution in India.

Blackstone

Stephen Schwarzman, the CEO of Blackstone, the American investment management giant in the media interaction post his meet with PM Modi revealed that the company has already made investments worth $60bn in India and is all set to invest another $40bn in the next five years. 

“India has been our best market for investment in the world,” Schwarzman said adding that he is very optimistic about India’s potential. 

Lauding India for its reforms, the CEO said, “They’re very smart, they’re very reform-oriented. They’re objective (about) what can be done, how quickly can it be done, how sensible is it. It is of benefit to India and benefit to outsiders. So I would give them an extremely high grade.”

General Atomics 

Vivek Lall, CEO of General Atomics expressed confidence in India’s policy reforms. In the meeting, PM Modi elaborated on India’s liberal drone policy and the opportunity in the field of manufacturing due to the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.

The PM also mentioned the need for a dedicated drone hub in India to support the entire ecosystem of drones.

General Atomics which first arrived in India in 2018, is working with both governments in an effort to provide India with the latest systems and technologies supporting the national defence. 

First Solar

CEO of First Solar, Mark Widmar was all praises for PM Modi and his commitment to long-term climate goals. “Only if every country could embrace and emulate what India has done, our ability to hit the long-term climate objectives will not be a problem,” said Widmar.

The two also talked about India’s renewable energy landscape. The PM further elaborated India’s efforts to harness solar energy, including the ‘One world, One sun and One grid’ initiative and investment opportunities in the sector.

Talking about the recently launched PLI Scheme, First Solar expressed interest in setting up manufacturing facilities in India using their unique thin-film technology. 

The company has successfully commissioned 150 MW of Utility-Scale Solar Power to the Grid in India and has installed 1.8 GW of solar capacity in the country. First Solar intends to set up a new 3.3 GW Facility in India and is contributing to India’s plans to ramp up solar power generation to 100 GW by 2022.

Qualcomm

Taking pride in a solid partnership with India, Cristiano R Amon, President and CEO said, “We talked about 5G, acceleration of 5G. We also discussed the opportunity to expand the industry, not only domestically in India, but India as an exporter of technology. Discussion on our conductors was an important topic of conversation.”

PM Modi further discussed investment opportunities in India’s telecom and electronics sectors for Qualcomm and informed about the government’s recently announced production-linked incentive schemes for Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM). 

The two also discussed the need for developments in India’s semiconductor supply chain and strategies to build the “local innovation ecosystem” in the country.

Meeting with VP Kamala Harris

PM Modi also had a successful bilateral meeting with US Vice President Kamala Harris in which the leaders discussed ongoing conflicts such as Afghanistan and the need to monitor Pakistan’s support to terrorism.

VP Harris also acknowledged India’s dominant global role in fighting the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. In the joint statement, Harris said, “Early in the pandemic, India was a vital source of vaccines for other countries.”

Ayodhra Ram Mandir special coverage by OpIndia

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