Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold talks with over 15 top US corporate honchos

NEW DELHI: In a power-packed business meeting schedule in the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold talks with over 15 top American corporate honchos, including top executives of Google, Boeing and General Electric, as India looks to attract more overseas investments.

Modi, who will be on a five-day visit to the US from September 26, would be meeting as many as 11 top corporate honchos over breakfast on September 29 apart from one-on-one meetings with six more business captains same day in New York.

They include Google Executive Chairman Eric E Schmidt, Carlyle Group, Co-Founder and Co-CEO David M Rubenstein, Cargill President and CEO David W MacLennan, Merck & Co CEO Kenneth C Frazier Hospira Chairman John C Staley Citigroup CEO Michael L Corbat, Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Dough Oberhelman, MasterCard President and CEO Ajay Banga, Pepsico Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi.

Nooyi and Banga are India-origin executives. On the same day, the Prime Minister would also be having one-on-one meetings with six other senior executives. Besides Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO Lloyd C Blankfein, Modi would be meeting Boeing Chairman and CEO W James McNerney Jr, BlackRock Chairman and CEO Laurence D Fink, IBM Chairman and CEO Ginni Rometty, General Electric Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt, among others.

Modi will also be participating in a business meet, to be organised by the USIBC, expected to be attended by 300-400 businessmen in Washington on September 30.

The Prime Minister would be having these meetings days after launching his government's ambitious 'Make In India' campaign on September 25.

Besides, a host of issues related to 'totalisation' and intellectual property rights are expected to figure in the Prime Minister's talks with the officials as well as industry leaders, according to External Affairs Ministry.