When M. Venkaiah Naidu, Union minister for urban development and BJP spokesperson a few days ago that PM Modi has conquered Silicon Valley, many people might have taken it as yet another political statement. But, several from Silicon Valley may agree with him saying, “Yes, Narendra Modi has indeed conquered Silicon Valley.”
PM Modi initiated a visit to California about 8-10 months ago as he was quick in realising that for faster growth of the economy, India needs IT sector growth. That’s why the PM’s office quickly shifted the focus from ‘Make in India’ to ‘Digital India.’ Modi took the strategically planned itinerary with an objective of wooing the IT corporates giants and IT public.
On his only visit to a manufacturing industry, Modi took a tour of Tesla Motors and discussed about manufacturing batteries for India with Elon Musk, CEO. He then talked about ‘Digital India’ with IT CEOs and informed them India is expected to become the fastest growing economy by 2017 according to the World Bank and only the digital economy can make that happen.
He also said that even though India has problems with IT Infrastructure and Internet speeds at the moment, it is the only place that can offer a user base with 800 million people. He made it clear that a simple presence will not be sufficient for them if they want to capture the market.
Modi visited Facebook and Google on the second day and clearly established himself as the ambassador of the social media. After several compliments and quips, he asked Google to explore the possibility of teaching in India by developing an online infrastructure for rural and remote India.
Similarly, while he was at Facebook, he said social media is functioning like a ‘guide’ to the general public who were earlier following textbooks, now they have access to information, entertainment, and interactivity to build relations. Modi also said that he is actively using social media for diplomacy and international relations as he is greeting country heads on their birthdays etc. which are instantly becoming viral.
With his carefully framed one liners like ‘Facebook, Twitter, Instagram as the new neighborhoods in the world’ ‘Twitter made everyone a reporter’ and ‘Now, the status for everyone is not being awake or asleep, but whether he is online or offline’ ‘ the most fundamental debate is choice between iOS or Android,’ he attracted the public.
These are just a few witticisms that attracted all the IT-savvy young Indian professionals. When Modi started his speech in SAP Center at his only civic meeting on the West Coast addressing 18,000 people, he did not talk about Digital India or his meetings with Facebook, Google or Microsoft.
He spoke about India, population, role of NRIs, role of the government etc. With his interactive talk with a strong body language, he impressed one and all.
(The writer is Editor & Publisher, Telugu Times USA)
