Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Indian community at the SAP Center in Silicon Valley.
As it happened:
9.00 a.m.:>Here are the top 10 quotes from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech today at the SAP Center.
8.50 a.m.: PM Modi exits the venue, greeting the audience as he leaves.
8.47 a.m.: From December 2 onward, Air India's direct flight from Delhi to San Fransico will fly three times a week, announces PM Modi.
8.45 a.m.: PM Modi comes back on stage. "I have forgotten to mention a piece of good news."
8.43 a.m.: PM Modi winds up his speech with chants of "Bharat Mata ki Jai" and "Jai Baghat Singh".
8.40 a.m.: We are harbingers of peace. We come from the land of Gandhi and Buddha, says PM Modi.
8.37 a.m.: We cannot safeguard mankind from either 'good terrorism' or 'bad terrorism'. Terrorism is terrorism: PM Modi
8.35 a.m.: The UN still hasn't been able to define terrorism. If it has taken the UN 15 years to define terrorism, how long will it take to fight terrorism: PM Modi
8.33 a.m.: Two main challenges facing the world right now are terrorism and global warming, says PM Modi. We need to get tackle these two menaces.
8:32 am: BRICS has become a force to reckon with due to India's participation: Modi
8.30 a.m.: I requested the people of the nation to give up their LPG subsidy for the poor. I feel proud to say that 30 lakh people have surrendered their subsidy so far: PM
8.27 a.m.: "Rs.25,000 crore has been deposited Jan Dhan Yojana."
8.24 a.m.: Technology has given a new strength and direction to entire world. Acknowledging that, we have initiated 'Digital India':PM Modi.
PM >@narendramodi explains the JAM concept. J=Jan Dhan financial inclusion program, A=Aadhar unique identity card M=Mobile Governance
— Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) >September 28, 2015
8.23 a.m.: "Penetration of technology is immense. Everybody has mobile phones these days."
8.22 a.m.: Digital India, Jan Dhan Yojana, India's mobile phone revolution - widest arc of development finding mention in PM Modi's speech.
8.21 a.m.: E-governance is effective governance - easy and most dependable, says PM Modi.
8.20 a.m.: India is the only nation to have succeeded on its first attempt, PM Modi says about Mangalyaan.
8.19 a.m.: Alluding to the successful Mangalyaan project, Mr. Modi says, "India succeeded on its first attempt. It is the same with me."
8.18 a.m.: Today India is the fastest growing major economy in the world, says Prime Minister Modi. "Be it 'World Bank', 'Moody's' or other research agencies, everyone says that India is the fastest growing economy."
8.15 a.m.: PM modi hits out at the corruption of past years, says: "Daughter took $500mn, son in law took $1bn. Aren't you sick and tired of corruption? Is there any allegation against me?"
8.12 a.m.: I have faith in the nation because India is youthful. 65% of our population is under the age of 35: PM
8.10 a.m.: People often ask me where I get my confidence from. They ask me how I'm so sure that my nation will progress ahead: PM Modi
8.08 a.m.: The crowd roars a loud, 'Yes'.
8.07 a.m.: After 16 months, today I want your certificate. Am I fulfilling promises?: Modi
8.05 a.m.: There's a discussion across the world about the who the 21st century belongs to. It is being believed that the 21st century is India's century: PM Modi
8.03 a.m.: I am trying my best to live up to everyone's expectations: PM Modi
Today the world looks at India with hope & confidence. PM >@narendramodi at SAP Center >pic.twitter.com/3tLPqlP7p0
— Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) >September 28, 2015
8.02 a.m.: "Jayaprakash Narayan ji, who led the movement when emergency was imposed in India in 1975, studied in California. This is the bond we have,"says the PM.
8.00 a.m.: No one can forget the contribution of the Ghadar Party in India’s freedom struggle: PM
7.58 a.m.: Our Sikh brothers came here years ago and began living here. When Indians wanted freedom, there was a movement for India's freedom here too: PM
7.56 a.m.: The brain gain that we have made is looking for opportunities and the day it finds the opportunities. It will benefit Mother India. And now that season for opportunity has come, he says.
7.54 a.m.: We must reverse brain drain to 'brain gain', says PM Modi.
7.53 a.m.: We’re not going to lose our crop of brains due to brain drain. I have a very different way of looking at it: PM Modi
Modi addressing Indian diaspora at SAP Center in San Jose
7.52 a.m.: "We often keep hearing - we need to stop this brain drain. But India is 'Bahuratna Vasundhara', there will be many brains there."
7.49 a.m.: It is in the magic of your fingers. Your committment and your innovation that has changed the way the world looks at India. Those who decide not to go along with this change will become irrelevant in the 21st Century: PM
7.48 a.m.: Today in the entire world, India has a new identity, a new image. The old image has been forced down. There is a reason for this: PM
7.47 a.m.: For the two days I've been here, I have met many people. Today, after a year since I was at Madison Square Garden, I'm here to meet you all, says PM Modi.
7.46 a.m.: I am coming here after almost 25 years and I am seeing a lot of changes, including new faces: PM
7.45 a.m.: It is 28th September in India. It is the birth anniversary of the brave son of India, Bhagat Singh. I bow down to him: PM Modi
7.44 a.m.: Good evening California, says PM Narendra Modi as he begins his speech. 18,500 fans cheer in response.
7.43 a.m.: PM Modi takes the stage.
7.40 a.m.: A group of young children perform the national anthems of India and USA. The Star Spangled Banner leads, and then the Indian national anthem. Ends with chants of "Modi! Modi!"
7.35 a.m.: PM Modi walks out on the arena to thunderous applause.
7.30 a.m.: Members of Congress, inlcuding Nancy Pelosi, Ed Royce and others, in the house to greet PM Modi, each walking on stage now.
7.25 a.m.: " The Democracy Connect. PM Modi meets elected lawmakers from California and elsewhere before his address," tweets MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup.
Photo courtesy: Twitter/@MEAIndia
7.20 a.m.: SAP Center looks quiet on outside but MSG14+ underway inside with community in full strength, reports correspondent >Narayan Lakshman .
Massive SAP Center full to brim, brings memories of
>#MSG 2014 for
>#ModiInUSA>@the_hindu>https://t.co/42zqdI1RjZ
— Narayan Lakshman (@narlak)
>September 28, 20157.15 a.m.: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at the SAP Center.
Prime Minister Modi at the SAP Center. Photo courtesy: Twitter/@MEAIndia.
7:02 a.m. : Security beefed up at the SAP Center ahead of the Prime Minister's speech.
6:54 am: Modi tweets his thanks to Google for the technology tour and for hosting him
Dear >@google , a big thanks for hosting me & giving me a tour of the various technological advancements & innovations >pic.twitter.com/hCPS7S4eNQ
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) >September 28, 2015
6.45.a.m.: An indoor arena in the heart of Silicon Valley, the SAP Center has a seating capacity of 18,000, which is full to its capacity. Nearly 45,000 applications were received for the event.
6:40 a.m: Cultural performances by local Indian-Amercians have begun, prior to Mr. Modi's address. Bollywood playback singer Kailash Kher is among those who participated.
6.35 a.m.: After his tour of the Google HQ, Mr. Modi launched the Bharat Fund at the India-U.S. StartUp Konnect programme, aimed at providing seed funding to Indian entrepreneurs. >Read more.
6.30 a.m.: Prime Minister Modi also toured Google HQ with CEO Sundar Pichai in Mountain View, California, where Mr Pichai announced a proposal for the introduction of broadband connectivity, through Wi-Fi hotspots, at 100 railway stations. >Read more.
6.25 a.m.: Welcoming Mr. Modi to the Facebook campus, CEO Mark Zuckerberg appreciated 'Digital India' and talked about the need for connectivity. He also spoke about how Mr. Modi is setting an example on how to connect with citizens using social media. >Read more.
6.20 a.m.: A day after Mr. Modi >met up with leading technology entrepreneurs in the Silicon Valley - from Microsoft, Google, Apple, Tesla, Adobe, Cisco, and Qualcomm among others, he addressed a Townhall style Q and A session with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the latter's headquarters in Menlo Park, California.
6.15 a.m.: Those attending the event have to go through a security screening which organisers claim is tighter than that of an airport.
6.10 a.m.: The Indian community in California is >all set to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a grand reception at the SAP Center in Silicon Valley.
Modi at 'Digital India'- top quotes
- » Google today has made teachers less awe-inspiring and grandparents more idle. Twitter has turned everyone into a reporter.
- » The status that now matters is not whether you are awake or asleep, but whether you are online or offline.
- » The most fundamental debate for our youth is the choice between Android, iOS or Windows.
- » These are the new neighborhoods of our new world. If Facebook were a country, it would be the third most populous one and the most connected.
- » We want our 1.25 billion citizens to be digitally connected.
- » 2003: We are expanding our public Wi-Fi hotspots. For example, we want to ensure that free Wi Fi is not only there in airport lounges, but also on our railway platforms.
- » Today, we speak of India-U.S. partnership as a defining partnership of this century. It hinges on two major reasons. Both converge here in California.
- » In this digital age, we have an opportunity to transform lives of people in ways that was hard to imagine just a couple of decades ago.
- » Technology is forcing governments to deal with massive volume of data and generate responses, not in 24 hours but in 24 minutes.
- » My mother is illiterate. My father is no more. My mom understands things through media. My mother took lot of pains to help me grow.
>Digital India dinner yields tech policy wins for Team Modi
Top CEOs of American companies, which have played a key role in IT revolution the world is experiencing now, endorse ambitious ‘Digital India’ programme, describing it as a vision that would bring India technologically at par with the rest of the world.
>Our march in step with U.N. vision: Modi
Prime Minister Modi outlined the various development targets that his government has set, and how special measures were being taken to ensure that they were environmentally sustainable.
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