Mark Zuckerberg changes profile picture to support 'Digital India'

Facebook CEO says his picture is in support of Indian government's effort to connect rural communities to internet

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg changed his profile picture on Sunday to support Digital India, ahead of his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"I changed my profile picture to support Digital India, the Indian government's effort to connect rural communities to the internet and give people access to more services online. Looking forward to discussing this with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Facebook today," Zuckerberg wrote regarding his new profile picture merged with the Indian flag.

Read: Modi emotional at Facebook as recalls childhood

PHOTO: FACEBOOK

Following this, Modi also changed his Facebook profile picture to one similar to Zuckerberg's. "Thanks Mark Zuckerberg for the support. I changed my DP in support of the efforts towards a Digital India," Modi wrote in a post on Facebook.

PHOTO: FACEBOOK

Modi received a warm welcome at Facebook headquarters on Sunday for a town hall hosted by Zuckerberg that focused as much on the two men’s backgrounds as the business potential of the world’s second most-populous country.

Modi’s voice broke as he described his humble beginnings. “I came from a very poor family. … We went to our neighbours’ houses nearby (to) clean dishes, fill water, do hard chores. So you can imagine what a mother had to do to raise her children.”

Read: Zuckerberg, Gates make bid for universal Internet access

Zuckerberg opened the event by telling Modi about a little-known incident several years ago when Facebook “wasn’t doing so well.” His then-mentor, the late former Apple Inc  Chief Executive Steve Jobs, urged him to take a spiritual trip to India and visit a specific temple there. That journey, Zuckerberg said, cleared his head and helped reaffirm Facebook’s mission to connect billions of people around the world.

Modi later visited Google headquarters and met with Indian-born CEO Sundar Pichai. On Saturday, he attended a dinner with 350 business leaders where Indian-born CEOs Satya Nadella of Microsoft Corp, Shantanu Narayen of Adobe Systems Inc and Pichai of Google moderated a panel. Modi visited Tesla Motors headquarters on Saturday and met Chief Executive Elon Musk, where the two discussed renewable energy. He also met Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook.