Bill Gates and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on Friday and discussed “innovative work” in India’s health sector, climate change, India’s G20 presidency, and other critical issues, according to the Microsoft co-official founder’s blog.
The billionaire philanthropist praised India for its “amazing ability to manufacture lots of safe, effective, and affordable vaccines, some of which are supported by the Gates Foundation” and said these vaccines saved millions of lives during the COVID-19 pandemic and prevented other diseases around the world in a post on GatesNotes – Mr. Gates’ official blog.
In addition to developing new lifesaving tools, India excels at delivering them. According to Mr. Gates, India’s public health system has delivered more than 2.2 billion doses of COVID vaccines via an open-source platform in Co-WIN, which allowed people to schedule billions of vaccine appointments and delivered digital certifications to those who were vaccinated.
“Prime Minister Modi believes that Co-WIN is a model for the world, and I agree,” said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
During the pandemic, the Microsoft co-founder also praised India for embracing digital payments. According to him, at least 300 million people, including 200 million women, received emergency digital payments.
“This was only possible because India prioritized financial inclusion, spending money on a digital ID system (called Aadhaar), and developing cutting-edge digital banking platforms. It serves as a reminder that investing in financial inclusion is a great idea “he said.
Also praised by Mr. Gates as a “great example of how digital technology can help governments work better” is the Gati Shakti program. He said, “It digitally connects 16 ministries, including the ones for rail and roads, so they can integrate their plans for infrastructure projects and quicken the work of Indian scientists and engineers.
According to Mr. Gates, India’s G20 presidency is a great chance to emphasize how innovations created in the nation can benefit the entire world and encourage other nations to adopt them.
The foundation places a high priority on supporting these initiatives, especially in terms of expanding its digital ID and payment systems, he said.
Mr. Gates concluded the blog by stating that he was “more optimistic than ever about the progress that India is making in health, development, and climate”. The nation is serving as an example of what is possible when we fund innovation. I hope India keeps making strides and opens up its innovations to the rest of the world,” he said.
