Bill Gates lauds PM Modi’s vision of Digital India: ’Other countries can certainly benefit...’
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who is currently in the country, Thursday said he is bullish on India's future. He said the rate of improvement in a lot of the key areas in the country is very strong.
Leading global philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who is currently in the country, Thursday said he is bullish on India's future. He said the rate of improvement in a lot of the key areas in the country is very strong. "I'm certainly bullish," he said when asked whether he is bullish or bearish on India's future. “The growth of the Indian economy is definitely a real positive”, he added.
During an interview with news agency ANI, when he was quizzed about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for India, the former Microsoft CEO said, "The strength of India today, in terms of economic growth, innovation, is very exciting...Democracy is a magic system when it works well. It's not just that my group deserves a term but rather that my group will grow the pie for everyone, improve the economy, education."
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On India's future, the billionaire said, "I'm certainly bullish. The rate of improvement in a lot of the key areas is very strong. Everyone knows that in vaccines, India is the world's leader. So we are investing with our partners here to come up with lots of new vaccines. The diagnostic industry has also come out with some work after the pandemic so we are partnering there as well.”
Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership in introducing digital public infrastructure, Gates told ANI that other countries can certainly benefit from the Indian leadership.
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"This idea of digital connections that starts with Aadhaar and the bank accounts that you manage digitally, that's flourishing. And so we see in agriculture now that they are registering the farmers and giving them advance notice. And so Indian leadership is something other countries should benefit from," he said.
Gates on Indian Economy
When asked about the Indian economy, the Microsoft co-founder said “the growth of the Indian economy is definitely a real positive” adding that the strength of India today, in terms of economic growth and innovation, is very exciting.
He said that the growth of the Indian economy comes up in his discussions with Buffett and his associate, Ajit Jain.
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"I've been friends with Warren for a long time, over 30 years, and we really never had much overlap in our businesses...we had a very similar view of the world, we love talking to each other. I talk to Warren many times a month about all the different things going on, and he did decide at one point, although it was a complete surprise to me, to funnel some of his generosity through the Gates Foundation. So that's allowed us to be even more ambitious. But our friendship is basically independent of that...Warren hasn't been to India a lot, so he wouldn't claim any deep knowledge. But as we talk about good things going on in the world, the growth of the Indian economy is definitely a real positive," Bill Gates said
Gates on AI in India
Noting that Artificial intelligence (AI) is the most transformative technology he has seen in his lifetime, Gates said, "If I was a student today, the mysteries of AI would draw me in. It is kind of weird that even the systems that are working so well, we don't really understand them. I would definitely be drawn to that".
On AI in the India, Gates said there is a lot of ‘fantastic’ work ongoing in the country in this field.
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"I think you have a very bright future. No matter what your specialty is - whether it is engineering, discovering new drugs, or policy work. The AI advances will give you opportunities and force you to think through these new systems in very deep ways," he said.
"You have groups like Wadhwani, you have the IIT groups that are very state-of-the-art. There will be a lot of fantastic leadership work in AI here in India. And when it's helping the poorest in areas like health and agriculture, our foundation will be proud to help shape that and support it," he said during the ANI interview.
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Business NewsNewsIndiaBill Gates lauds PM Modi’s vision of Digital India: ’Other countries can certainly benefit...’
First Published:29 Feb 2024, 11:14 PM IST
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