Bill Gates is excited about India's potential for growth despite the slowdown

The world's richest man, Bill Gates, is currently on a three-day visit to India to review the work of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates seemed excited about India and has a positive outlook for the economy which is currently reeling under a slowdown. These were his thoughts about India.

On economic growth

"I don't have any knowledge about the near term, but I'd say, over the next decade, there's potential for very rapid growth, which will lift people out of poverty and allow the government to invest in health and education priorities in a really exciting way."

On getting rid of malnutrition

"If there was one wish I had for India, it would be to get rid of malnutrition because that reduces the potential of those kids so dramatically and their ability to provide and learn are reduced. It's like 15 IQ points go away."

On Aadhaar and UPI system

"Well, in all of our areas, India's been a key place where we find innovators and financial services. It's fantastic the way that the Aadhaar identity system and the overall UPI system is gaining adoption, and there are some great lessons out of that work."

On Indian professionals

"We partner with people like Nandan Nilekani to think how the lessons from India apply to other countries for things like digital identity or financial services."

On vaccinations in India

"When people think of India, they think of IT services and the great work done there. Less visible but certainly very impactful for improving the human condition is the great work done by the vaccine manufacturers, whether it's Serum, which is the largest, but a dozen others - Bharat Biotech, Bio-E, a number of companies. One of the "great triumphs" of the Indian health system was the elimination of polio.

On cost-effective healthcare

"Greater private sector innovation and use of technology like digital tools would help India provide quality healthcare services at low cost.