Narendra Modi's busy schedule in US; breakfast with CEOs, dinner with Obama

New York, Sept 29: Prime Minister of India -- Narendra Modi impressed everyone with his maiden visit to US. While he rocked the first two days, the third day might become very hectic for him.

He began his third day in the country having breakfast with top CEOs, he will end up having dinner with Obama. Modi met CEOs of 11 top US companies over breakfast. Among those present are Google's Eric Schmidt and PepsiCo's Indira Nooyi.

Among other business leaders at the table are David M Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group, Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat, Doug Oberhelman of Caterpillar Inc, Michael Ball of US-based global pharmaceutical company Hospira Inc. and Kenneth C Frazier of Merck and Co.

Breakfast will be followed by one-on-one meetings of 15 to 20 minutes each with six other CEOs - W James (Jim) McNerney Jr, chairman of Boeing; Laurence D Fink, CEO of American multinational investment management firm Black Rock; Ginni Rometty, president and CEO of IBM; Jeffrey R Immelt, chairman and CEO of General Electric; Lloyd Blankfein, chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, and Henry Kravis, CEO of American private equity fund Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co (KKR).

The new Modi government has vowed to increase the share of the manufacturing sector to 25 per cent of the GDP from 15 per cent currently.

For this, the sector needs to grow at 10 per cent annually. Hours before he left for the US last week, Prime Minister Modi launched the ambitious "Make in India" campaign, where he promised red carpet treatment for investors minus the red tape that has come to be associated with doing business in India.

According to sources, Modi did not need anyone to help him with business talk and he can do it with great confidence and elan. On a trip to Japan last month too PM Modi engaged deeply in business talk - placing the needs of investment before CEOs clearly, promising all help, and getting firm answers, officials added.

The "Vibrant Gujarat" biennial event was launched in 2003. It has grown in the last 12 years to emerge as "a global business hub" and has established Gujarat as a major investment destination. Next year's summit, to be held in January, is being billed as the "Davos of the East".

OneIndia News