'India has great investment potential': General Atomics CEO & PM Modi talk drones & space

Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has embarked on a United States visit met with the CEOs of five top American companies associated with the IT, Finance, Defence and Renewable Energy sectors on Thursday at Washington DC where they talked about bringing fresh investments into India as well as expanding their current hold in the market.  

PM Modi's meeting with the head of Armed Drone manufacturer General Atomics, Vivek Lall concluded on 'outstanding' terms as remarked by the CEO. PM Modi and the CEO of General Atomics discussed pertinent topics including the advancement of defence manufacturing, use of emerging technologies and augmenting capacity building in India, said the MEA. The duo discussed India's strides in drone technology, highlighting the path-breaking reforms and Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.

PM Modi took to his official Twitter handle and shared glimpses of the meeting with Global Atomics CEO Vivek Lall and said that drones are an upcoming sector and have generated significant interest to the youth.

Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia, thanking PM Modi, expressed his happiness saying India's Drone Policy has finally yielded positive results.

US companies see India as a very promising destination: Vivek Lall

General Atomics CEO Vivek Lall said that India is an attractive destination for the manufacturing of drones and that a dedicated drone hub can be created in the country to support the entire ecosystem of drones. Lall also appreciated India's space reforms.

"There are a lot of potential areas of collaboration that we are in discussions with. I think US companies and many of my colleagues in US companies see India as a very promising destination," said CEO of General Atomics, Vivek Lall.

General Atomics CEO Lall lauds India's space reforms

Citing India's space reforms, Lall said, "These are very laudable policies, prescriptions and reforms that the PM and government have taken. I think that will certainly catalyze a lot of interest and investments in India."

PM Modi's meeting with Lall holds significance for India as the country plans to procure 30 Predator MQ-9 unarmed drones designed and manufactured by General Atomics. Moreover, the Indian Navy has already operationalised two Predator MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicles in its bid to create maritime domain awareness from the Gulf of Aden to Lombok Straits in Indonesia.

Image: @NARENDRA MODI/TWITTER