PM Modi held a series of meeting with prominent academics, health experts, business tycoon Elon Musk, think tank experts in New York
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who got a rousing welcome from members of the Indian community on his arrival in New York, had a hectic schedule on Wednesday as he met prominent academics, health experts, business tycoon Elon Musk, think tank experts and several other eminent personalities in the city.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, during his interaction with Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Inc, SpaceX and Chairman of Twitter, Prime Minister Modi appreciated Musk’s efforts at making technology accessible and affordable in various sectors.

The MEA said Prime Minister Modi invited Musk to explore opportunities in India for investments in electric mobility and the rapidly expanding commercial space sector.

In their meeting with Prime Minister Modi, academics who hailed from diverse fields of agriculture, marketing, engineering, health, science and technology, shared perspective and experiences from their respective areas of expertise.

They also discussed, as per the Ministry of External Affairs, possibilities of enhancing research collaboration and two-way academic exchanges under India’s New Education Policy.



The academics who participated in the interaction with PM Modi, included Chandrika Tandon, Chair of the Board, NYU Tandon School of Engineering; Dr. Neeli Bendapudi, President of Pennsylvania State University; Dr. Pradeep Khosla, Chancellor, University of California, San Diego; Dr. Satish Tripathi, President of the University at Buffalo; Professor Jagmohan Raju, Professor of Marketing, Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania; Dr. Madhav V. Rajan, Dean, Booth School of Business, University of Chicago; Professor Rattan Lal, Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science, Director, CFAES Rattan Lal Centre for Carbon Management and Sequestration, Ohio State University; Dr. Anurag Mairal, Adjunct Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University & Faculty Fellow and Lead for Technology Innovation & Impact at Center for Innovation & Global Health, Stanford University



Prime Minister Modi also held a productive meeting with leading US health experts and discussed various matters related to health including use of digital technologies for quality healthcare, greater focus on integrative medicine and better healthcare preparedness.



Notable experts who attended the meeting included Dr. Peter Hotez, Founding Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine; Dr. Sunil A. David, CEO of ViroVax; Dr. Stephen Klasko, Advisor to General Catalyst; Dr. Lawton R. Burns, Professor of Healthcare Management, Wharton School; Dr. Vivian S. Lee, Founding President, Verily Life Sciences; and Dr. Peter Agre, Physician, Nobel laureate, and molecular biologist.

In another significant engagement, Prime Minister Modi met with experts from several leading US think tanks and discussed developmental and geopolitical issues.



The Prime Minister extended an invitation for increased presence and collaboration in India during its transformational phase, known as Amritkaal, the MEA said.



Notable experts in attendance were Michael Froman, President-designate and Distinguished Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations; Daniel Russell, Vice President for International Security and Diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute; Dr. Max Abrahms, Associate Professor of Political Science at Northeastern University; Jeff M. Smith, Director, Asian Studies Center, The Heritage Foundation; Elbridge Colby, Co-founder of 'The Marathon Initiative'; and Guru Sowle, Founder-member, Director (Indo-US Affairs), Indus International Research Foundation.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met Falguni Shah, Indian American singer, composer and Grammy award winner in New York. During the meeting PM Modi lauded Falguni Shah for her song ‘Abundance in Millets’ that raises awareness regarding healthy and environment friendly millets.



Prime Minister Modi also appreciated her for bringing the people of India and the US together through her music.



In his interaction with Nobel laureate Prof Paul Romer, a US-based economist and policy entrepreneur, Prime Minister Modi dwelled on India’s digital journey, including the use of Aadhar and innovative tools like Digilocker. Discussion was also held on various initiatives being undertaken by India for urban development.



As per the Ministry of External Affairs, leading American astrophysicist, author and science communicator Neil de Grasse Tyson also met Prime Minister Modi and exchanged views on inculcating scientific temperament among youth.



They discussed at length India’s rapid progress in the space sector including various space exploration missions being undertaken by India.


Prime Minister Modi and Tyson also discussed opportunities for private sector and academic collaboration under India’s newly launched National Space Policy, the Ministry said.



Various reforms undertaken by the Indian government to foster economic growth, including reduction of compliances and decriminalisation of a large number of legal provisions were discussed by Prime Minister Modi during his meeting with Ray Dalio, American investor, author and co-founder of the hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates.



According to the Ministry, the Prime Minister invited Ray Dalio for further investing in India.



During his meeting with Prof Robert Thurman, US-based Buddhist scholar, author, and Padma Shri awardee, Prime Minister Modi discussed India’s Buddhist connect and efforts being made by the country for preservation of Buddhist heritage.



Prof Thurman exchanged perspectives on how Buddhist values can act as guiding light for finding solutions to global challenges.



Prime Minister Modi also met Prof. Nicholas Taleb, a distinguished American mathematical statistician, academician, public intellectual and author. According to the Ministry, the Prime Minister complemented Prof. Taleb on his success as a public intellectual and for bringing complex ideas of risk and fragility into popular conversation.



In his conversation with Prof. Taleb, Prime Minister Modi also highlighted risk-taking abilities of India’s young entrepreneurs and growing start-up ecosystem in India, the MEA said.