Modi In NY: Meets Parade Of US Intellectuals, Business, Health Experts

Photo : The Indian PM with Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman and Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson

By ARUL LOUIS

NEW YORK, NY (IANS) – Prime Minister Narendra Modi met a parade of intellectuals, business leaders, and health experts, making a pitch for investments in India and discussing a range of subjects from economic development and space exploration to Buddhism and the “scientific temperament” on the first day of his visit to the US.

The meeting that drew the most attention was Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

Musk, who also owns Twitter, said after the meeting that he was a “fan” of Modi and that he would bring the electric vehicle and battery maker to India as soon as it was “humanly possible”.

At his meeting with hedge fund founder, investor and author Ray Dalio, Modi highlighted reforms undertaken by the government to foster economic growth.

After meeting Nicholas Nassim Talib, the thinker who is known for explaining how quirks of history impact mankind, Modi tweeted that he “has interesting perspectives on many issues and I had the opportunity to hear them on some of those subjects”. Taleb tweeted that they discussed risks, reaction to Covid, how successful interventions like controlling the virus that averted catastrophes look excessive in hindsight and “repeated small losses vs. blowup risk”.

Modi’s meeting with Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Romer touched on “India’s digital journey”, including the use of the biometric identification system Aadhaar and Digilocker, which enables universal paperless access to government documents.

With Neil deGrasse Tyson, the astrophysicist who popularizes science, Modi discussed inculcating scientific temperament among youth” and India’s space exploration missions.

Modi and Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman spoke about how Buddhist values can act as guiding light for finding solutions to global challenges and India’s efforts to preserve that religion’s heritage.

The Prime Minister met with the Grammy-winning musician A Falguni Shah, better known as Falu Shah whose song, “Abundance in Millets” raises awareness of health and environment-friendly millets.

Earlier on his arrival from India, at JFK Airport, Modi was welcomed by Ruchira Kamboj, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, and Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Ambassador to Washington, and by a crowd of supporters.

When he came to the Lotte Palace Hotel in midtown Manhattan, he flouted security to greet supporters deliriously chanting his name and dancing, while worried Secret Service agents and security personnel tried to put him in a tight physical cordon.

More supporters waited for him in the hotel lobby where he autographed pictures of him.