Emotional modi extols the power of social media

1. Emotional Modi Extols the
Power Of Social Media
WHEN THE PM CHECKED IN Modi's town hall at Facebook was
more about his chemistry with Zuckerberg, but his interactions
with the Valley's big guns fired them up. Google responded
with plans to launch WiFi at 500 stations while Qualcomm
rolled out a Design in India project PM breaks down while
talking about his mother

2. Contd..
PM Narendra Modi hailed social media as a force for democracy and good
governance, reiterated his vision of India as a $20trillion economy and said the
Make in India plan would be a success.But the Facebook townhall with CEO Mark
Zuckerberg will long be remembered for Modi breaking down as he spoke about his
parents and especially his mother. “My mother is more than 90 but she still does all
her own work. When I was a child, to make ends meet, my mother used to wash
dishes and do various chores in the neighbouring homes. You can imagine how
much a mother suffered to bring up her children,“ Modi said. He was replying to
Zuckerberg's question about family, having just greeted the CEO's own parents in
the audience.
The town hall on Sunday at FB's Menlo Park HQ was more about the personal
chemistry between Modi and Zuckerberg, rather than announcements about policy
or technology. Zuckerberg spoke of how, at a low point in FB's history, he went to
India on the advice of his mentor Steve Jobs. The Apple cofounder had told him to
visit a certain temple and reconnect with his vision of what he wanted FB to be.

3. Contd..
Modi illustrated the power of social media as a tool of empowerment by pointing to himself. “I am
not very highly educated but social media allowed me to make up for that,“ he said. “My thought
process changed. I was able to reach out to a wider world. The social media world also accepted me
for what I was.
That's the biggest cause for satisfaction.“ The power of social media is such that any government is
afraid of doing wrong but it also allows corrections to be made quickly, he said. It has also
transformed diplomacy by allowing leaders to reach out to people of other countries.
Zuckerberg said the town hall had generated tremendous interest with 40,000 comments and
questions being sent in to Facebook. Several people had flown in to ask questions, he said.
Modi said he wanted to boost the Indian economy by focusing on agriculture, services and
manufacturing.
He said the Make in India initiative to turn India into a manufacturing hub would be successful
because the country had low costs, skilled manpower, raw material and a large market.

4. Contd..
“There are many countries which don't know where to invest. I am saying -here is the address,“
Modi said. On the pace of reforms, Modi compared this to the difference between turning a scooter
and a long train it was a matter of scale.
To his 3Ds of demographic dividend, democracy and demand, he added a fourth deregularisation.
Modi said the biggest achievement of his government was to boost the confidence of people about
India's future. “Even a patient in the ICU starts feeling better if he is confident that the doctor has
arrived,“ he said.
In the next five years, Modi wants to connect India's villages with optical fibre to help bring about
development across the country. His administration is introducing technology in governance,
making it effective, easy and economical.
Modi pointed to the newfound competition between states in ease of doing business and
government's success in financial inclusion.
Interestingly, the dress code was formal, so Zuckerberg was in a suit rather than his trademark t-
shirt and hoodie. Modi, who spoke in Hindi, was in a white shirt, black vest and dark trousers. After
the Facebook event, Modi headed off to Google headquarters at Mountain View.

5. Contd..
FB employees, their friends and special invitees attended the town hall at Menlo Park.Both Modi
and Zuckerberg changed their Facebook profile pictures to ones with the tricolor superimposed
over their images to show their support for Digital India. “I changed my profile picture to support
Digital India, the Indian government's effort to connect rural communities to the net and give
people access to more services online,“ Zuckerberg posted.
A festive atmosphere pervaded the venue before the start with Bollywood songs playing. “The kind
of attention Modi is getting here blows my mind. The CEOs in the valley don't do this for anyone,“
said entrepreneurturned-academic Vivek Wadhwa, who was at the Digital India dinner with Modi.
Earlier, Qualcomm executive chairman Paul Jacobs had unveiled two initiatives a $150-mn fund to
fuel startups and a programme to Design in India, the second being a theme that Google's Pichai
and Microsoft's Nadella backed. They suggested that, given India's talent, it needs to be higher up
on tech food chain Make in India should move in the direction of Design in India.
In another initiative, Google is partnering with the government to bring WiFi to 500 railway stations
“in a short time,“ Modi had announced at his meeting with tech company bosses.

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