Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Indian community at the SAP Centre, in San Jose.

IANS/San Jose

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the 21st century belongs to India and the world has begun to acknowledge that, as he addressed an 18,000-strong cheering crowd of Indian community members at the SAP Centre here.

Modi, in an over hour-long address to a "Modi, Modi” chanting crowd, also said that terrorism and climate change are the main challenges facing the world and urged all nations to unite in facing the twin threats.

In a rock star reception like the one he had received at Madison Square Garden last year, Modi also asked the crowd for a "certificate" of his performance in the 16 months he has been in power.

He said the world now acknowledges that the 21st century belongs to India.

“Sometime ago India was striving to join with the world, but today the times have changed and the world is thirsting to join with India," he said.

He also said he will give his every moment and every particle of his body in working for India's betterment.

Asking the crowd for a certificate of his 16 months in power, Modi asked the rapturous crowd: "Did I live up to my promises, working day and night, and the responsibility that I have undertaken...Have I lived up to that?" to loud cheers and chants of "Modi, Modi".

Modi, who said he was visiting the West Coast after 25 years, said he was seeing a "vibrant picture" of India in the large Indian tech community that lives and works here.

He praised the "nimble fingers" of the Indian tech experts who "have made the world acknowledge India" with their competence, innovations.

‘Brain deposit’

He said he did not see the large number of Indians working in the US and other foreign countries as a brain drain, but as a "brain deposit".

Modi described terrorism and global warming as the world's main challenges and asked all nations to unite to fight this scourge as there was no such thing as good or bad terrorism.

"The world has to realise that terrorism can hit anyone at anyplace, and it is the world's responsibility to recognise it and unite against terrorism," he said.

He also outlined his government's JAM initiative - J for Jan Dhan financial inclusion programme, A for Aadhar unique identity card and M for Mobile governance. He said the linking of the three would help eradicate corruption in the system.

He criticised the previous governments for not having opened up the banking sector to the poor despite nationalising the banks around 40 years ago.

He said linking the Aadhar card, with its biometric identification, with the Jan Dhan account in the case of gas cylinder subsidy had helped eliminate corruption in the scheme.

“The JAM yojana will help to root out corruption," he said.

Modi announced a thrice-weekly Air India flight from New Delhi to San Francisco from December 2.