Tim Cook and other tech CEOs who opened up to India: The Modi effect?

In the past couple of years, there have been many firsts for India, at least in terms of the prominence we are getting as an upcoming tech market on the world map. We’ve seen global personalities throng the country in the bid to woo PM Modi as they put forth a helping hand and get their innovation aligned with the PM’s vision of Digital India. With the latest in the list being none other than Apple chief , who is currently in Mumbai, with an agenda ranging from local manufacturing to setting up stores. Let’s quickly take a look at some prominent faces in the tech space that visited India in the last couple of years. Tim Cook [caption id=“attachment_315511” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”] File photo from September 2015. Tim Cook with PM Modi. Image Credit: Twitter @NarendraModi[/caption] Tim Cook is here and has begun the day by visiting the  Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai. He has a  busy schedule  lined up ahead with visits reportedly to Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Meanwhile, Apple has already announced its new startup accelerator in Bangalore. The visit may also include talks related to opening its first Apple stores in India, and the company is also believed to tie-up with Airtel and Reliance Jio for distribution. However, there is more than what meets the eye here. India, that was once ignored by the Apple, now sees potential in the second largest smartphone market as it faces first ever sales decline due to slowing markets. There are unconfirmed reports about Cook meeting PM Modi and sale of refurbished devices could be on agenda along with Apple’s participation in Modi’s Made in India initiative. It’s this meeting that he may be looking forward to in order to give a push to the presence of Apple, synonymous to premium and luxury, in India. Sundar Pichai https://twitter.com/PIB_India/status/677447871168253952 It was not too long ago that Google chief, Sundar Pichai visited India . His first visit to the country as the Google CEO. He visited India in December 2015, just months after Modi’s visit to the Silicon Valley in September wherein Pichai had a special welcome video for Modi. Interestingly, Pichai’s visit came just when some ministries had raised concern over the balloon-based Loon Project. Besides its Android OS that dominates Indian smartphone market, Google has also been trying to connect billions in remote areas by making easy access to Internet, Wi-Fi for railway stations and so on. Besides, Pichai was also seen addressing and interacting with students. A session named ‘Ask Sundar’ was planned in the Delhi University’s Sri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC). Satya Nadella https://twitter.com/PMOIndia/status/548449105714757632 Satya Nadella, who made us all proud as he took the helms as the Microsoft chief visited India twice last year. He met PM Modi in December 2014, and was in Mumbai in November last year at the  ‘Future Unleashed’ programme wherein we saw him deliver a keynote address that brought together 3,000 industry leaders, enterprise heads, developers and entrepreneurs. Soon after that, he visited India to sign MoU with Andhra Pradesh in December. Under the MoU, Microsoft will support Andhra Pradesh in building of up to three proof-of-concept (POC) solutions in the fields of education, agriculture and eCitizen services. Nadella has often expressed how Microsoft is willing to be a part of India’s Digital roadmap. Mark Zuckerberg https://twitter.com/PMOIndia/status/520575626529345537 We also saw founder and CEO of the world’s biggest social network Mark Zuckerberg visit India last year. In October last year , amidst the conundrum over its Free Basics, Facebook CEO met PM Modi ditching his usual jeans, t-shirt and sneakers for a crisp suit. Zuckerberg expressed his interest in working with the government in the areas of heathcare and education. However, there is no denying that Zuckerberg was here to woo PM Modi and others and get a green signal for the Internet.org aka Free Basics initiative. He was also seen at a townhall in IIT Delhi wherein he explained how the initiative will connect the other billion who aren’t online yet. Jack Ma [caption id=“attachment_261310” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”] Image: PTI[/caption] In April 2015, in a bid to expand its presence in India, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s Chairman Jack Ma met PM Modi . It was his second India visit in just about four months. During his last India visit in November 2014, Ma could not meet Modi. Ma discussed how Alibaba can help empower small businesses in India. Alibaba has already made investments in Paytm and Snapdeal, and has been giving clear indications that they would like to build their own business here too. And, with the 100 percent FDI , Jack Ma could go all out, all dragons blazing, preparing to make way into the India market. Though, Elon Musk, CEO and product architect of Tesla Motors met PM Modi during latter’s Silicon Valley visit and also gave him  tour of the Tesla factory. India is now among the list of countries that takes pre-orders for the Tesla’s Model 3 unveiled at $35,000.