‘More confident about India than ever’: Bill Gates after meeting PM Modi

Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates praised India’s progress in areas such as health, development and climate, and said the country shows what is possible when it invests in innovation.

He also praised “India’s amazing ability to produce a large number of vaccines that are safe, effective and affordable, some of which are supported by the Gates Foundation,” and said they have saved millions of lives during the COVID-19 pandemic and prevented other diseases around the world. .

Gates, co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday during his visit to India.

In a post, he said, “At a time when the world is facing so many challenges, it is inspiring to visit a place as dynamic and creative as India.”

Although he hasn’t traveled much in the past three years due to the pandemic, Gates said he has been in touch with Modi, particularly on developing Covid vaccines and investing in India’s health systems.

In addition to producing new life-saving tools, India is good at delivering them — its public health system has delivered more than 2.2 billion Covid vaccines — Gates said, creating an open-source platform at Co-WIN that allowed people to Scheduling billions of vaccination appointments and issuing digital certificates to those who have been vaccinated.

PM Modi believes that Co-WIN is a model for the world and I agree,” he said.

He noted that India provided emergency digital remittances to 300 million people, including 200 million women, during the pandemic.

“This is possible only because India prioritizes financial inclusion, invests in a digital IT system (called Aadhaar) and develops innovative platforms for digital banking. A reminder that financial inclusion is a sound investment,” he said.

Hailing the Gati Shakti project, Gates said it was a good example of how digital technology can help governments work better. It digitally connects 16 ministries, including railways and roads, so they can coordinate plans for infrastructure projects and accelerate the work of Indian scientists and engineers, he noted.

Gates said he had discussions with Modi during his G20 presidency this year and said it was a great opportunity to highlight how innovations made in the country can benefit the world and help other countries follow suit.

Supporting these initiatives — especially spreading its digital ID and payment systems elsewhere — is a high priority for the foundation, he said.

Gates said, “My conversation with the Prime Minister left me more confident than ever about the progress India is making in health, development and climate. The country is showing what is possible when it invests in innovation. I hope India continues this progress and shares its innovation with the world.”