PM Modi News: PM Narendra Modi arrives in Washington

Praising yoga as “truly universal,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined a crowd of diplomats and dignitaries for a morning yoga session on Wednesday at the United Nations and kicked off the public portion of his U.S. visit by calmly flexing India’s cultural reach.

With a checkerboard of made-in-India yoga mats covering the U.N. headquarters’ spacious north lawn, Modi stopped and bowed at a statue of the assassinated Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi. Then, in brief remarks, Modi turned to the topic at hand, portraying yoga as an all-ages, try-it-anywhere practice accessible to all faiths and cultures.

“When we do yoga, we feel physically fit, mentally calm and emotionally content. But it is not just about doing exercise on a mat,” Modi said. “Yoga is a way of life.”

Then the leader of the world's most populous nation took his spot on a mat amid the throng, hands folded, as a yoga instructor led the opening chants and a cloud-filtered sun glinted off the adjacent East River and the flags of the world body’s member nations rippled in the breeze.

United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) President Csaba Korosi, along with India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ruchira Kamboj and Mayor of New York City Eric Adams, greeted and addressed an event on the 9th edition of International Day of Yoga, welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he arrived to lead a special Yoga session at the UN headquarters.

Kamboj said, "Today's celebration is, indeed, very special as PM Modi will lead us in doing yoga here. It is under his leadership that June 21 was declared #InternationalYogaDay. It is only fitting that the inspiration behind the idea is with us today in the scenic multicultural setting of the UN."

On International Day of Yoga, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he fully agreed with United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres after the latter articulated his views on the importance of Yoga.

PM Modi, who is leading a special Yoga session at the UN headquarters in New York on his maiden official visit to the US, wished "may Yoga bring us all together".

Earlier, the UN Secretary-General shared a personalised video message on International Yoga Day, saying that Yoga not just unites body and mind, but also millions of people across the globe.

India's approach to the tourism sector is based on the ancient Sanskrit verse 'Atithi Devo Bhavah', meaning 'Guest is God', Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday and noted that the country's diversity is truly majestic and has something for everyone.The Prime Minister, who addressed G20 Tourism Ministers' meet in Goa via video message, urged the dignitaries to take some time and explore the beauty of Goa.He invoked the spirit of Incredible India and said that the tourism ministers rarely get a chance to be tourists themselves even though they are handling a sector worth over two trillion dollars globally.

H.E. Mr. Csaba Korosi
A Hungarian diplomat currently serving as President of the 77th
United Nations General Assembly.

Mr. Eric Adams
American politician and former police officer, serving as the 110th mayor of New York City

H.E. Ms. Amina J.Mohammed
Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group.

Mr. Richard Gere
Famous Hollywood actor; He is an advocate for human rights in Tibet; He is a co-founder of the Tibet House, US and Chairman of the Board of Directors for the International Campaign for Tibet.

Mr. Vala Afshar
He is Chief Digital Evangelist at Salesforce, and shares motivational stories / immigrant successes / tech in society stories.

Mr. Jay Shetty
Award-Winning Storyteller, Podcaster, and former monk

Mr. Vikas Khanna
Award winning Indian chef and restaurateur; Host of the TV Show MasterChef India.

Mr. Mike Hayes
COO, VM Ware (Cloud computing tech major) based in Silicon Valley. Highly Decorated former US Navy SEAL Commander, has served as a White House Fellow, and as Director, National Security Council.

Mr. Britt Kelly Slabinski
Highly decorated US Navy SEAL officer, has won several distinguished military honours for his services in Afghanistan and Iraq. Currently, Consultant at LeadWright Enterprise

Mr. Francisco D’Souza
Founder & CEO, Recognize (private equity). Son of IFS officer P.P. D'Souza; ex-CEO of Cognizant, now runs a venture capital fund in the US.

Ms. Colleen Saidman Yee
Celebrated Yoga teacher. New York Times christened her “The First Lady of Yoga.

Mr. Rodney Yee
Celebrated Yoga instructor,presently actively involved into integrating Yoga with Western medical paradigm. He has written two books, “Yoga: the Poetry of the Body” and “Moving Toward Balance: 8 Weeks of Yoga with Rodney Yee”

Ms. Deidra Demens
She runs a popular Yoga studio in New York City. She combines Yoga with theatre.

Mr. Christopher Tompkins
He is a scholar of South and Southeast Asian Studies at Berkeley University, California, with an emphasis on the roots and evolution of Yoga in the tradition of Tantrik Śaivism

Ms. Victoria Gibbs
Celebrated Yoga teacher and meditation coach. She is a 3-time New York regional champion of Yoga.

Ms. Jahnavi Harrison
Also known by her spiritual name, Jahnavi Jivana dasi, is a British musician. Known for her mantra meditation music (kirtan). She regularly appears as a presenter on BBC Radio.

Mr. Kenneth Lee
Community Health Chaplain at University Hospital, Newark, New Jersey. He is the husband of Ms. Jahnavi Harrison.

Mr. Travis Mills
Travis Mills is a war veteran who lost all four limbs in Afghanistan; He promotes yoga, meditation, and wellness to overcome adversity

Mr. Jeffrey D Long
Professor of religion and Asian studies at Elizabethtown College,
Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania,

Ms. Seema Mody
She is currently global markets reporter for CNBC with focus on foreign policy and Wall Street.

Ms. Zain Asher
Prime Time news anchor at CNN popularly known for global news show ‘One World with Zain Asher’ .

Mr. Ricky Kej
Three-times Grammy Award-winning, three-times Grammy
nominated Indian music composer and environmentalist.

Ms. Falguni Shah
American singer whose music blends ancient classical Indian
melodies with contemporary western sounds

Ms. Mary Millben
American singer and actress.

The function will also be attended by personalities and influencers from all walks of life including Diplomats, Officials, Academicians, Health professionals, Technocrats, Industry leaders, Media personalities, Artists, Spiritual leaders, Yoga practitioners, among others. People from more than 180 countries will be joining the PM for Yoga Day programme.

There will be plenty of time to discuss global tensions during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the U.S. this week. But he's starting his day Wednesday by highlighting a pursuit of inner tranquility.After arriving in New York on Tuesday afternoon and holding private meetings, the leader of the world's most populous nation kicks off his public schedule Wednesday with a group yoga session on the United Nations' north lawn.U.N. General Assembly President Csaba Korösi, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and many other diplomats and U.N. officials are expected to attend the event. It honors the International Day of Yoga, which Modi persuaded the U.N. to designate in 2014 as an annual observance.

"This is the historic visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United States of America (USA) and it will open new gateways for the Indian and US companies to work together," said Joe Johal, CEO of Wendy's of the Pacific, as the Indian-origin corporate leaders in the USA are excited ahead of the PM Modi's state visit to the country which begins on June 21. Indian-origin tech leaders and entrepreneurs in the USA in high hopes about PM Modi's visit. A roundtable conference on India-US ties organized by NID Foundation and Indian Minorities Foundation (IMF) at California.

Let us take this watershed moment that is a game changer and an ecosystem and bring those two things together. Let us see that tonight. This is what it feels like to live through history. This week is one of those moments that can change the course of history. I know our leaders will deliver that, but they're counting on us to implement that vision together,” he said on the eve of the Official State Visit of Prime Minister Modi, who arrives here on Wednesday for talks with President Joe Biden.

The US remains deeply confident in India's diversification of military equipment and believes that Washington's proposal for industrial cooperation will further integrate the defence industries of the two countries, the Pentagon has said. Pentagon's Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday that the US encourages all its partners and allies to avoid transactions with Russia.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead a unique yoga session at the UN Headquarters on Wednesday in a historic celebration to commemorate the 9th International Day of Yoga that will see the participation from top UN officials, envoys from across and the world and prominent individuals.

Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) national president JP Nadda on Wednesday performed Yoga on the occasion of 9th International Yoga Day at Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Gurugram. Speaking to media persons ahead of PM Modi's mega yoga programme at the United Nations today, Nadda said, "Today, PM Narendra Modi will celebrate Yoga Day at the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York. He will send a message to the whole world from there, this is a proud and blessed moment for us."

US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will host PM Modi at a State Dinner on Thursday. The visit also includes an address by the prime minister to the joint session of the US Congress on Thursday.

American businesses are looking at India as a place where they can diversify their supply chains, an influential US lawmaker has said on the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden state visit at the invitation of President Joe Biden.

After arriving in New York on Tuesday and holding private meetings, PM Modi is scheduled to kick off his public schedule on Wednesday with a group yoga session on the United Nations' north lawn. UN General Assembly chief Csaba Korösi, deputy secretary-general Amina Mohammed and many other diplomats and UN officials are expected to attend the event. It honors the International Day of Yoga, which Modi persuaded the UN to designate in 2014 as an annual observance.

Twitter owner Elon Musk was asked about former CEO Jack Dorsey’s claims on being threatened by the Indian government. Earlier this month, Dorsey accused the Indian government of issuing threats to shut down the company in India. Musk, in response to a question regarding Dorsey’s claims, said that Twitter has little choice but to obey governments. “Twitter doesn't have a choice but to obey local governments. If we don't obey local government laws then we will get shut down,” Musk said after meeting the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a 'global leader,' United States' former National Security Advisor John Bolton said that the big challenge for India and the United States is how to deal with China. While speaking exclusively with ANI on Prime Minister Modi's first State visit to the United States, Bolton said that 'trade relations' is something that he believes will be discussed between the two leaders as a lot of American and other country's companies are unwinding their supply chains in China.

Union minister for sports and information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur on Wednesday said that Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's praise for PM Narendra Modi and India's business potential reveals a lot about the country's leadership and about PM Modi himself. "What Elon Musk said, reveals a lot about India's leadership and PM. Big personalities across the world are also praising PM Modi now," Thakur said.

The US remains deeply confident in India's diversification of military equipment and believes that Washington's proposal for industrial cooperation will further integrate the defence industries of the two countries, the Pentagon has said. Pentagon's Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday that the US encourages all its partners and allies to avoid transactions with Russia.

Describing PM Modi's visit to America as a "watershed moment" in bilateral ties, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti has said that this week will be one of those moments that can change the course of history as the two democracies get together for peace and prosperity.

On his state visit to the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today met Tesla CEO Elon Musk. After the meeting, Musk said that he is a “fan” of Modi. According to a report by ANI, after the meeting, Musk said that, "I can say he really wants to do the right thing for India. He wants to be open, he wants to be supportive of new companies, obviously, but at the same time, make sure it accrues to India's advantage.”