Bill Gates Meets PM Narendra Modi, Explores India’s 'Incredible Progress & Innovation'

Bill Gates, the billionaire philanthropist, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday and discussed in depth the 'innovative work' in health, climate change, and other critical areas, according to Gates Notes.

Citing the pandemic, Gates, in his official blog, said he has been in touch with PM Modi for developing Covid-19 vaccines and "investing in India's health systems."

"India has an incredible ability to manufacture lots of safe, effective, and affordable vaccines, some of them backed by the Gates Foundation. Vaccines made in India saved millions of lives during the pandemic and helped prevent other diseases around the world," Gates wrote on his blog.

Gates stated that India excels at both developing and disseminating new, life-saving technologies, and that the country's public health system has distributed more than 2.2 billion doses of Covid vaccines.

In addition, Gates Notes mentioned the country's 'Gati Shakti' programme as a great example of how digital technology can help governments work better.

"It digitally connects 16 ministries, including rail and roads, so they can integrate their plans for infrastructure projects and accelerate the work of Indian scientists and engineers," according to the blog post.

It also praised the country's initiative to promote universal foundational literacy and numeracy across the country. The co-founder also mentioned 'Mission Innovation,' which was launched in 2015 and works to accelerate work on clean energy technologies with India as a key partner.

"I had toured the India Council of Agricultural Research in Pusa, where I learned about efforts to help farmers adapt to a warmer climate, including planting new varieties of wheat and chickpeas that can tolerate droughts," the co-founder wrote in his blog further.

He added that the country was "progressing in health, development, climate and showing what's feasible when we invest in innovation."