Raje Meets SoftBank CEO to Discuss Partnerships in Emerging Technologies

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Wednesday held a meeting with Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank, discussing possible partnerships in emerging technologies.

Recalling his earlier interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Son spoke of the commitment of Japanese corporations to step up investment to India.

Raje, on her part, briefed the accompanying delegation about investment opportunities and partnerships in the state.

She made a special mention of public-private partnerships and the existing social and economic infrastructure.

Executive Chairman of SBG Cleantech, the JV involving SoftBank, Bharti Enterprises and Foxconn, Manoj Kohli and Executive Advisor of SoftBank Raman Nanda were also present at the meeting.

SoftBank is a Japanese corporation with wide ranging interests in telecom, e-commerce and the like.

The Japanese firm had earlier this week teamed up with Taiwan's Foxconn and Bharti Enterprises to invest $20 billion (roughly Rs. 1,27,272 crores) in solar power projects in India, as the country ramps up its clean energy sector.

Mobile phone operator SoftBank said the venture aimed to generate 20 gigawatts of energy through solar and wind power plants across coal-reliant India, up from the country's 4.1 gigawatts of current capacity.

"With this partnership, our goal is to create a market-leading clean energy company, to fuel India's growth with clean and renewable sources of energy," SoftBank's billionaire founder Masayoshi Son said in a press release.

Son said his company would help manufacture solar equipment in India for the project, adding that SoftBank has invested $1 billion (roughly Rs. 6,362 crores) in the country in the last nine months.

Written with agency inputs