By Sean McLain in New Delhi and Corinne Abrams in Mumbai
The heads of America's largest technology companies will meet
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this weekend to discuss how
they might contribute to--and benefit from--the continuing Internet
revolution in India.
In a weekend trip to Silicon Valley, Mr. Modi will be meeting
with Google Inc. Chief Executive Sundar Pichai, Facebook Inc.
founder Mark Zuckerberg and Apple Inc. Chief Executive Tim Cook,
among others. His summit with the tech titans comes just days after
Chinese President Xi Jinping, had his own high-profile meetings
with some of America's most powerful executives.
As millions of Indians are just now discovering the Internet
thanks to affordable smartphones, America's biggest tech companies
don't want to miss out on a new surge in Internet users like many
did in China. Industry insiders say they will use the Modi visit to
push for better market access in India as well as clearer
regulations on investment and startups.
Mr. Modi will use the trip to try to stir up interest in helping
India upgrade its technology infrastructure. He is also using the
visit--in a region that is home to many India-born engineers,
coders and executives--to highlight and celebrate Indians who help
power America's tech industry.
Mr. Modi said on his verified Twitter account that his visit
"will focus on startups, innovation & technology and how to
further support them in India."
He will take part in a question-and-answer session at Facebook,
visit Google and stop by Tesla Motors Inc. He will also attend an
event in San Jose, Calif., where more than 30 startups from India
and the U.S. will showcase their work.
Google's Mr. Pichai welcomed Mr. Modi--who landed in New York
for United Nations meetings Thursday--with a video message
outlining the importance of India for technology companies and
highlighting Google's efforts to make the Internet more affordable
and accessible for the next billion users. "The bond between India
and Silicon Valley is strong. India has long been an exporter of
talent to tech companies," Mr. Pichai said in the video posted on
YouTube. "We hope your visit will energize people in the Valley,
excite Indians all across the country and renew and strengthen our
partnership."
Many of America's tech giants have announced new products and
investment plans aimed at India in the past year. Amazon said it
would spend $2 billion to expand its presence in India. Facebook is
helping offer free Internet service through its Internet.org
platform. Google helps companies design inexpensive phones that use
its Android operating system.
Still, U.S. tech leaders might take the opportunity to point out
some of the challenges they are facing in India, Asia's
third-largest economy after China and Japan.
Google, for example, has been stuck in an antitrust court battle
for years in India in which some Indian companies claim Google
abused its dominant position as the most-used search engine.
Facebook's effort to create new Internet users through Internet.org
sparked accusations it was trying to control what services users
can access, which detractors said violated net-neutrality
principles. Facebook denies that Internet.org violates the
principles.
Online retailers such as Amazon.com Inc. and its rivals in India
need more clarity on the country's restrictions on foreign
investment in retail. India prohibits foreign investment in online
retail, which e-commerce companies skirt by running marketplaces
that link up buyers and sellers, instead of selling goods directly.
The Indian government is currently being sued by brick-and-mortar
retailers who allege that the difference is semantic, and that
Amazon.com and others should be prohibited from getting the
international funds they depend on for expansion.
To be sure, technology executives who follow Mr. Modi generally
say he is good for the industry in India. They expect him to follow
through on promises to upgrade the country's outdated
infrastructure and make it easier to set up shop and expand.
"There's an expectation among the entire Indian community that
Modi is looking to build the economy and make India a global force
to be reckoned with," said Mohit Lad, chief executive of
ThousandEyes, a network-monitoring startup based in Silicon Valley.
"I think he's doing a much better job than what we've seen in the
past."
Executives--particularly India-born executives--expect Mr. Modi
to lower the barriers to investing in and selling stakes in
startups and do something about the country's abysmal
infrastructure.
India needs the right laws so "investors feel comfortable
bringing money in and taking money out," of the country said Dhiraj
Rajaram, CEO of data-analytics consulting firm Mu Sigma Inc., which
has offices in the India and the U.S.
Ninad Kulkarni, co-founder of the social-enterprise startup
BleeTech, which is based in India, said government paperwork too
often slows startups, making it difficult to raise the money they
need.
"The startup process goes fast," he said. "In one year, if you
don't act fast enough then you are dead."
The time Mr. Modi is spending with startups in the U.S. will
also send a signal that will help enliven investment in the IT
industry and let India's policy makers know it is a core area of
focus for the Modi administration.
"There's a fundamental message to India itself," said Naveen
Tewari, the chief executive of Indian mobile ad firm InMobi, who
will be attending the startup event. "The new world is going to be
startups, technology and innovation."
Newley Purnell in Singapore and Eric Bellman in New Delhi
contributed to this article.
Write to Sean McLain at sean.mclain@wsj.com and Corinne Abrams
at corinne.abrams@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 24, 2015 14:05 ET (18:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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