New Delhi: The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on Friday met Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates in New Delhi.
“Delighted to meet @BillGates and have extensive discussions on key issues. His humility and passion to create a better as well as more sustainable planet are clearly visible” the Prime Minister has twitted.
In his report on his visit, Mr. Gates noted that he had spent the week in India learning about innovative work in health, climate change, and other vital areas. He found the country to be a dynamic and creative place, which was inspiring given the challenges that the world faces. Mr. Gates went on to describe his meeting with the Prime Minister as the highlight of his visit, citing their ongoing communication regarding the development of COVID-19 vaccines and investment in India’s health systems. The Gates Foundation has supported the production of safe, effective, and affordable vaccines in India, which have saved millions of lives during the pandemic and prevented other diseases worldwide.
He dwelled on India’s handling of the pandemic and said “in addition to producing new life saving tools, India also excels at delivering them—its public health system has delivered more than 2.2 billion doses of COVID vaccines. They created an open-source platform called Co-WIN, which allowed people to schedule billions of vaccine appointments and delivered digital certifications for those who were vaccinated. This platform is now being expanded to support India’s universal immunization program. Prime Minister Modi believes that Co-WIN is a model for the world, and I agree.”
Bill Gates praised India’s stride in digital payments and said “India was also able to transfer emergency digital payments to 300 million people, including 200 million women, during the pandemic. This was only possible because India has made financial inclusion a priority, investing in a digital ID system (called Aadhaar) and creating innovative platforms for digital banking. It’s a reminder that financial inclusion is a fantastic investment.”
Mr Gates ‘dispatch’ also talks about India’s achievements such as PM Gatishakti Masterplan, G20 presidency, education, innovation, fighting diseases and push to Millets.
Mr Gates concluded “My conversation with the Prime Minister left me more optimistic than ever about the progress that India is making in health, development, and climate. The country is showing what’s possible when we invest in innovation. I hope India will continue this progress and share its innovations with the world.”