Sunday,
27th September 2015, witnessed the historical meeting of the Indian Prime
Minister, Mr Narendra Modi and Facebook Chief Mr. Mark Zuckerberg at the
Facebook headquarters in San José, Silicon Valley. Audience in the town hall
meeting comprised of mostly Facebook employees of Indian origin who were
eagerly waiting for their PM from India,
who enjoys celebrity status amongst them, a sentiment, which reflected in
Zuckerberg’s remark, “We've received more than 40000 questions for this town
hall.” The 2.8 million strong Indian diasporas is amongst the wealthiest and most
educated communities in US and contribute significantly towards its economy.
Zuckerberg acknowledges this and Sunday’s event was significant for gathering support for his ambitious projects in India. India’s Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, National Security Adviser Mr. Ajit Doval and Mr. Arun Singh, the Indian Ambassador to the U.S. were also present.
Zuckerberg acknowledges this and Sunday’s event was significant for gathering support for his ambitious projects in India. India’s Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, National Security Adviser Mr. Ajit Doval and Mr. Arun Singh, the Indian Ambassador to the U.S. were also present.
The
Facebook CEO was at his hospitable best and rained praises on Modi’s
initiatives in the fields of Information and Technology and lent support to the
Indian Government’s ‘Digital India’, an initiative to digitally connect rural
India through the internet and avail online services, equivalent to those
available to the urban and upwardly mobile populace.
The
event which lasted for 50 minutes was characterized by emotional highs as is
common in Modi’s addresses. During the event, when Mark asked him about his
mother, Modi was seen having tears as he spoke how his mother, who is
illiterate, worked to make ends, meets when he was just a boy. He paid rich
tribute to mothers in India. He also congratulated Mark’s parents who were a
part of the audience.
The
town hall meet saw some heartfelt candid talks take place. The otherwise
reticent Mark Zuckerberg, one of the world’s most successful CEOs confessed how
when several years back, during a low phase in Facebook, a spiritual journey to
India, on the advice of Steve Jobs, the late CEO of Apple, had given him the
strength to sail through the tough times and helped him envisage new visions
for his company. The young CEO has never looked back ever since.
The
Indian Prime Minister articulated on the power of the 1.25 billion strong nations
and spoke of his wish to make the economy that is stated to be the fasted
growing and vouched for, by several multilateral institutions. He said, “I
dream that India will convert to a $ 20 trillion economy from the $1 trillion
economy we are today. “ He also spoke how his government has been
working consistently to revive the country’s economy after witnessing slump in
the previous regime.
Narendra
Modi applauded Mark Zuckerberg on his efforts to revolutionize the social media
and Facebook’s initiative to globally connect people. He further expressed that
these programs are not merely business ventures aimed at generating profits but
also tools to realize the dreams of many.
Modi,
after his victory in the elections gained ‘social acceptance’ at the global
frontier with the help of Facebook and he thanked Zuckerberg for that. It also
provided him with a platform to connect with the masses and speeded up the
functioning of various government machineries. Narendra Modi is one of the most
keen users of social networking sites among his foreign counterparts and he urged
the world leaders to not shy away from using these sites as they harbor
realizations for real-time accountability which brings connectivity, speed and
transparency in administration. He fondly recounted how he had wished Israeli
PM in Hebrew on his birthday and he had responded in Hindi! He is also
active in the Chinese social media and communicates in Chinese there. The PM
had also greeted the Chinese premiere and it went viral.
He
emphasized on the need to develop digital infrastructure and establish both
i-ways and highways and his desire to join each of India’s
600,000 villages through optical fibre network while tapping India’s strengths.
He pitched ‘Make in India Initiative’ by highlighting bonuses India offers to
foreign investors, i.e. easy manpower at lower pay.
Answering
questions on women empowerment schemes and equality for women, he spoke of the
'Beti Bachao Beti Padao' scheme that aims to educate and empower daughters of
India and reservation for women which has already been implemented in various
forms.
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