Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates on Monday said he was excited about the progress India had made on critical health and development challenges as he addressed the 46th AGM of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and shed light on the partnership between the conglomerate and The Gates Foundation.
Taking over from Nita Ambani, Gates said The Gates Foundation has worked in India for more than two decades and “every time I visit the country, I’m more excited about the progress being made on critical health and development challenges”.
On the issue of health, Gates noted that despite resource constraints, India has eradicated polio. “It has reduced poverty, HIV transmission, and infant mortality. It has increased access to sanitation and financial services.”
He added: “I am amazed not only by India’s innovation in science and technology but by the country’s focus on deploying that innovation to help those who need it most.”
The billionaire also noted India’s progress on climate change, saying he was “delighted that Reliance is collaborating with our foundation and with my climate organization, Breakthrough Energy, on some of the world’s toughest challenges — addressing climate change, helping unlock economic power for women, and improving health outcomes for the poor”.
Gates said he was “optimistic” that the partnership between Breakthrough Energy and Reliance “will do even more to spark innovation and help bring scalable solutions that work for India and the world”.
“To make meaningful progress fighting climate change, we need businesses, philanthropists, and governments to spend more on affordable green solutions that will enable India to achieve its economic and climate aspirations at the same time,” he said.
Referring to Nita Ambani’s speech that mentioned the partnership on women’s economic empowerment, Gates said: “Together, over the next three years, we’ll support one million women to fulfil their potential through self-help groups. In his Independence Day address, Prime Minister Modi shared a vision where 20 million women in self-help groups substantially boost their income. I think our partnership can help make that happen.”
The philanthropist, while talking about the health sector, said India had “a proven track record of manufacturing high-quality, affordable drugs and vaccines for the country and the world”.
“Through the foundation’s work with Reliance, we aim to support innovation and implementation at scale to develop drugs and point-of-care diagnostics. We’ll also continue to work with communities to support the government’s efforts to eliminate infectious diseases.”
Expressing his “excitement” at working with Reliance, Gates said: “I believe there is no problem too big for the innovators of India and the world. I look forward to making continued progress against some of the world’s greatest challenges together and helping many more people live healthy, productive lives.”
At the 46th Reliance AGM on Monday, RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani said Reliance Jio’s 5G services mark the fastest-ever rollout of this scale anywhere in the world, and the company is “on track” to cover the entire country with the ultra high-speed network by December this year.
JioAirFiber will be launched on Ganesh Chaturthi, September 19, Ambani said, adding that Jio customer base has crossed 450 million and its 5G network covers 96 per cent of towns.
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