PM Modi focused on AI, fintech; cybersecurity products, Aadhar and Digilocker:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the United States, Joseph Biden, took part in the India-US Hi-Tech Handshake event held at the White House in Washington D.C. on Friday. The event, moderated by US Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, witnessed the presence of prominent Indian and American CEOs from the tech industry. With the thematic focus on ‘AI for All’ and ‘Manufacturing for Mankind,’ the event aimed to deepen the technology collaboration between the two nations.
The event was an opportunity for both leaders to review the deepening technology collaboration between India and the USA. Discussions focused on the role and potential of the India-US Technology Partnership in driving the adoption of an AI enabled inclusive economy to meet the needs of their citizens and the world. The CEOs explored ways of leveraging existing linkages between the two tech ecosystems, India’s talented workforce and advances made by India in Digital Public Infrastructure, to build global collaborations. They called for regular engagement between the respective industries to kickstart strategic collaborations, cooperate on standards and foster innovation.
Prime Minister Modi underlined, among other things, the immense potential of harnessing India-US tech cooperation for socio-economic growth. He also applauded the contribution of India’s talented youth in fostering a culture of innovation. President Biden called on CEOs to help expand India-US tech partnership to new fields including biotechnology and quantum.
Notable business leaders who participated in the event included Revathi Advaithi (CEO, Flex), Sam Altman (CEO, OpenAI), Mark Douglas (President and CEO, FMC Corporation), Lisa Su (CEO, AMD), Will Marshall (CEO, Planet Labs), Satya Nadella (CEO, Microsoft), Sundar Pichai (CEO, Google), Hemant Taneja (CEO and Managing Director, General Catalyst), Thomas Tull (Founder, Tulco LLC), and Sunita Williams (NASA Astronaut) from the United States. Representing India were Anand Mahindra (Chairman, Mahindra Group), Mukesh Ambani (Chairman & MD, Reliance Industries), Nikhil Kamath (Co-Founder, Zerodha & True Beacon), and Vrinda Kapoor (Co-Founder, 3rdiTech).
Prime Minister Modi held separate meetings with Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet Inc. and Google, as well as Andrew R. Jassy, President and CEO of Amazon, on June 23 in Washington D.C. Modi invited Pichai to explore further avenues of collaboration in the domains of Artificial Intelligence (AI); fintech; cybersecurity products and services; as well as mobile device manufacturing in India. They also discussed collaboration between Google and academic institutions in India to promote R&D and skill development. Modi welcomed Amazon’s initiative of promoting digitisation of MSMEs in India. Modi and Jassy held discussions on the area of e-commerce.
Earlier, Modi met Nobel laureate Prof Paul Romer, American economist and policy entrepreneur, in New York. They held discussions on India’s digital journey, including the use of Aadhar and innovative tools like Digilocker.
