Google CEO praises Indian PM ahead of visit

Google’s new CEO praised India’s prime minister in a video late Wednesday as the world leader prepares to visit Silicon Valley.

Sundar Pichai, who was born in India and became CEO of Google earlier this year, said he welcomed a digital “revolution” in the country and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to connect more people to the web.

{mosads}“The bond between India and Silicon Valley is strong. India has long been a supporter of talent to tech companies,” Pichai said. “The products built by Indian graduates from [the Indian Institutes of Technology] and other institutions have helped to revolutionize the world. But it is India that is now undergoing its own revolution.”

He said that rural residents, girls and speakers of languages native to India would benefit from expanded access to the Internet in India.

“Prime Minister Modi’s Digital India vision is central to this revolution,” he said. “It focuses on connecting the 1.2 billion in India. It has received tremendous support both in India and in Silicon Valley.”

Pichai said that Google is trying to make its services more accessible to people with limited bandwidth and that it is providing Chromebooks to schools in the country.

“There is no more important role for tech companies today than helping to connect the next billion Internet users,” he said.

The CEO’s glowing welcome is meant to greet Modi as he visits Silicon Valley this weekend to promote the Digital India proposal. Ahead of the visit, the Indian government withdrew a controversial data security plan that could have been a point of contention with tech companies.

Modi’s visit is attracting attention from more players than just Google. On Sunday, he will appear at a town hall at Facebook’s headquarters. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook is also reportedly planning to meet with Modi.