‘It is always inspiring’: Bill Gates meets PM Modi; discusses AI, women-led development

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates who is in India met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed a host of issues, including artificial intelligence (AI). He said it is always inspiring to meet the prime minister and that there is always a lot to discuss. The billionaire also met with ministers S Jaishankar, Mansukh Mandaviya, Hardeep Singh Puri and Rajeev Chandrasekhar. 

“It is always inspiring to meet with @narendramodi and there was a lot to discuss. We talked about AI for public good; DPI; women-led development; innovation in agriculture, health, and climate adaptation; and how we can take lessons from India to the world,” said Bill Gates, along with a photo of the duo. 

PM Modi also responded to the post and said that it is always a delight to meet Gates and discuss a myriad of issues. 

Gates met Minister of Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya to discuss a wide range of issues in healthcare including promotion of digital health, affordable diagnostics. ”It was great to see digital health innovations like the Arogya Maitri Disaster Management Cube-BHISHM and discuss our shared commitment to leverage Indian research and technology to eliminate TB, sickle cell, and maternal anemia with @mansukhmandviya. Looking forward to continued partnership between @BMGFIndia and @MoHFW_INDIA,” Gates said.

Gates met Hardeep Singh Puri and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, along with a few entrepreneurs including Zomato’s Deepinder Goyal at the former’s residence. They discussed ongoing partnerships and areas of further cooperation. “The country’s growth story exemplifies the power of collective effort in driving impactful change. Strengthening cross-sectoral collaborations can solve the toughest challenges around the world,” said Gates as he thanked Puri for hosting him. 

The billionaire co-founder of Microsoft also met Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar and discussed India’s G20 Presidency, DPI, health, education, and women’s economic empowerment.

Meanwhile, Gates, in an interview to ANI, spoke about why he is bullish on India. "The strength of India today, in terms of economic growth, and innovation, is very exciting," he said. Gates also called India the global leader in vaccines and said that they are investing with their partners to come up with “lots of new vaccines”.