U.S. tech CEOs give India PM Modi boost ahead of election

• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ties to U.S. tech company CEOs have helped to boost the country's and his own profile ahead of national elections that start Friday.
• Tesla CEO Elon Musk will visit India next week, following discussions Modi had with Nvidia's Jensen Huang, Apple's Tim Cook and Alphabet's Sundar Pichai last year.
• India faces a range of hurdles to ensure future investments.

The ironclad relationship that India Prime Minister Narendra Modi has developed with CEOs of the largest U.S. tech companies is giving his nation the foreign support that India has craved for more than a decade.

Those ties also have boosted Modi's own profile ahead of key elections that start Friday, a former Indian government official told CNBC on the condition of anonymity.

The promise of further economic growth in India as China's economy slows has led many American CEOs to support Modi's policies.

Tensions between Washington and Beijing have also pushed U.S. conglomerates to diversify their manufacturing bases to countries including India to avoid disruptions from any potential conflict.

"Shifting supply chains away from rivals makes India a very important linchpin," Manjari Chatterjee Miller, senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, told CNBC.

The support from major U.S. companies also helps to shield Modi from criticism of India's continued purchase of Russian and Iranian oil, as most major economies sanction the two nations.

Ahead of the election, Apple's expansion into India in particular has given Modi political clout and created more investing interest among U.S. companies, experts told CNBC.

"The story of Apple, such a marquee name, has worked in Modi's favor – not only has