Modi to address Google summit

Ahmedabad (Agencies): Narendra Modi is the only Chief Minister from India to be invited to address the Google Big Tent Activate Summit 2013 on March 21 through Google+ hangout on the theme 'Technology in Politics'.A Before delivering the address, Modi will be interacting with Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google through Google+ Hangout, a state government release said on Wednesday. Besides Schmidt, Alan Rusbridger, the editor-in-chief of British newspaper The Guardian, and Stephanie Cutter, who served as the deputy director in US president Barrack Obama's 2008 and 2012 campaigns, will also be participating in the summit. "Modi is the only CM from India to be invited to speak at the summit which focuses on the influence of web in shaping India's future, in areas of business and economics, politics and governance, culture and media, and education", according to the release. Big Tent summits are hosted by Google and they bring together the finest minds, political leaders, thinkers to talk about a variety of issues, the release said.

'Meeting with Modi, a logical step in ties' Ahmedabad (Agencies): UK's Minister of State for the Foreign Office Hugo Swire on Wednesday met Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, and later said it was "a logical next step" in his country's relations with Gujarat.A The meeting comes after UK decided to re-engage with the state recently, ending the boycott post-2002 riots. Swire is the first minister from UK, or for that matter any European country, to meet Mr Modi after the riots. The meeting took place in Gandhinagar, the state capital.A The UK minister, however, evaded a reply when asked whether he invited Mr Modi to visit UK. "What you are witnessing is a gradual scaling up of the relations between Gujarat and UK. First our high commissioner visited Gujarat in October last year, and it is followed by my visit today," he said.