Watch Narendra Modi's Address at Madison Square Garden LIVE
10: 56 pm (IST): Modi ends his speech with the chant "Bharat Mata Ki Jay!!!". The 20,000-strong crowd has given Modi a standing ovation.
Modi has won the hearts of NRIs in India by promising to address all their visa issues and calling them to join in the development story of India.
10:55 pm (IST): Visa on Arrival for American Tourists to India will be put in place, says Modi.
10: 50 pm (IST): Modi addresses issues of visa problems for persons of Indian origin (PIOs)
In some time we will merge PIO and OCI schemes and make it one: PM @narendramodi
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 28, 2014
PIO card holders- they have lot of visa issues. We decided they will get lifelong visas: PM
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 28, 2014
Those who stay in India for long have to go to police stations too. They won't have to do that now: PM on issues of PIO card holders — PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 28, 2014
10: 45 pm (IST): Modi calls Indian Americans to join 'Clean Ganga' campaign. Says all Indians must work to ensure Ganga is clean. He also pushed the 'Swaccha Bharat' Camapign.
10: 35 pm (IST): Modi pushes 'Make in India' campaign. "The days of red-tapism are gone," Modi assures Indians in America. "I invite you to join this campaign as well," he said.
10: 30 pm: Modi praises the success of Mangalyaan, which made India the first country to put its Mission on Mars on the first attempt.
Mopdi pushes his campaign for 'Skills Development'.
We have given importance to skill development. We created a separate Ministry for skill development: PM @narendramodi
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 28, 2014
10. 25 pm (IST):
We want to make development a mass movement: PM @narendramodi
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 28, 2014
10.20 pm (IST): Modi invokes Mahatma Gandhi.
"Mahatma Gandhi made the freedom struggle a mass movement. Every Indian felt that yes, I am also a part of the freedom struggle. Today, Development must become a mass movement," he says.
10:10 pm (IST): "Today, India is the youngest nation in the world. India will move forward at a high speed because of its youth."
"India has three things that no one has. Democracy, Demographic Dividend and Demand" says Modi.
"Democracy is our biggest strength. Demographic Dividend is our strength. because India is the youngest nation in the world. For Demand - Everyone is looking at India. It is a nation of 1.25 billion people and is a big market and has a big demand."
"When 1.25 billion people give blessings, it becomes God's blessings," says Modi.
10: 05 pm (IST): "The 21st century is Asia's century. Some even say it is India's century," says Modi.
10:00 pm (IST): "For the first time in 30 years, India has voted unanimously for a government. We will not do anything to bring shame to you," Modi assures Indians everywhere.
"We will not leave any efforts to bring about a change in India. Indians have a lot of expectations and they want change. Our government will be successful in making the change," Modi said.
9:58 pm (IST): Modi thanks all Indians in America for coming to India to vote during the elections.
9:57 pm (IST): Modi regales the massive audience at the Madison Square Garden. "India is no more a land of snake-charmers. Earlier, our people used to play with snakes, now, we play with the mouse," Modi joked, while referring to India's booming IT sector and development.
The crowd has once again erupted in chants of "Modi, Modi"
9: 50 pm (IST): Modi takes to the stage. Wishes everyone for Navratri.
"You all have stayed miles away from home to bring respect for the nation. Our country was known as the land of snake-charmers. Your excellence in the field of information technology has helped our country, otherwise we would still be known as a land of snake-charmers," he said.
9: 42 pm (IST): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived at Madison Square Garden to a rockstar reception. Crowds are chanting "Modi,Modi!!"
9: 30 pm (IST): US Congressmen attending the event are being introduced.
9: 05 pm (IST): PM Modi to arrive at the venue soon.
9:00 pm (IST): Indian-American groups present an 'anthem'.
8:45 pm (IST): Singer Kavitha Krishnamurthy is enthralling the audience with patriotic songs. Violinist L Subramanium is accompanying her.
8:36 pm (IST): A colourful dance program has begun. A garba dance is being played out as the festival of Navratri is being celebrated by Gujaratis and Modi himself, who is said to be on a strict fast for the festival.
8:30 pm (IST): The mega-event has begun. Hosts Nina Davuluri and Hari Sreenivasan have welcomed the thousands of guests at the iconic venue. A cultural program will begin now.
8.00 pm (IST): Half-and-hour to go for the event to begin. The venue is already jam-packed. This is the venue where music greats Elton John, Michael Jackson and the Beatles have performed. Modi himself is set to get a rockstar reception by the Indian community at the event.
Modi will make his address from a rotating pedestal, which will give him a 360-degree-view across the grand venue.
7:45 pm (IST): Ahead of his address at the Madison Square Garden. Modi met with South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.
Excited about the opportunities in India - South Carolina Governor @nikkihaley to PM @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/TmA6L2yNbb
— Syed Akbaruddin (@MEAIndia) September 28, 2014
7:25 pm (IST): It's just an hour to go for the mega-event at Madison Square Garden to begin, and thousands of Indians are already streaming into the venue ahead of Modi's address.
The event will begin with a high-octane cultural programme with dances and musical performances to set the stage for Modi.
You can get live streaming information of Modi's Madison Square Garden speech here.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to make a historic address at the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York, in what is touted to be one of the biggest events for a visiting head of state in the United States.
This is the third day of Modi's first US visit as the Indian Prime Minister and after 14 years of exile. Over the last two days, Modi has received a rapturous welcome from the Indian-American community, almost on the lines of a rockstar-fans frenzy.
Modi also addressd the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday, and then made a speech at New York's Central Park for the Global Citizen Festival.
The Madison Square Garden speech is slated to begin at 11am local time, which would be about 8:30pm in India.
Thousands of members of the Indian community will flock to the venue, and while the Madison Square Garden has a seating capacity of 18,000 people, scores of others will watch Modi on large screens across Times Square.
Among those attending the mega-event will be senators and governors of the United States, as well as the top CEOs of the biggest companies in the world, including Microsoft's Satya Nadella and PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi.
Indian-American South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will also be at the event, along with US Senators and as many as 50 Congressmen.
450 organisations have come together to arrange the mega-event, which is being organised by the Indian American Community Foundation.
The public reception will be hosted by Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri and Indian-origin news anchor Hari Sreenivasan.
About Madison Square Garden:
The Madison Square Garden is one of America's biggest and most popular arena for sports and entertainment events, and is home to the New York Rangers ice-hockey team and the Knicks basketball team.
It has also been the venue for several top-billed concerts, including those by Michael Jackson and U2. Two National Democratic Party Conventions have also been conducted here.
This is also the venue where Swami Vivekananda, a philospher who has influenced Modi himself, made a historic speech.
