Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates visits RBI office, holds discussions with Governor Shaktikanta Das

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Tuesday visited the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) office in Mumbai and met Governor Shaktikanta Das. In a tweet, the central bank said that Gates visited the Mumbai’s office and held wide-ranging discussions with Das.  

Gates is in India to explore business opportunities in health, education and other sectors. In his blog, "Gates Notes" last week, Gates said that India gives hope for the future and proved that the country could solve big problems at once even when the world is facing multiple crises. 

"I’m headed back to India next week. Although I’ve spent a lot of time there over the years—doing everything from checking out toilets to visiting a village that’s home to the one poorest, most underserved castes in India—I haven’t been back since before the pandemic. I can’t wait to see how much progress has been made in that time," he wrote on his blog Gates Notes. 

He even expressed his interest to conduct business and other activities in India. 

On Monday, Gates tweeted: “Like every other country on the planet, India has limited resources. But it has shown us how the world can still make progress in spite of that constraint."  

In his blog praising India’s health initiatives, Gates wrote: “India as a whole gives me hope for the future. It's about to become the world's most populous country, which means you can't solve most problems there without solving them at scale. And yet, India has proven it can tackle big challenges. The country eradicated polio, lowered HIV transmission, reduced poverty, cut infant mortality, and increased access to sanitation and financial services.” 

Besides his philanthropic and health initiatives, Gates is also a prominent advocate for climate change action and has been urging governments and businesses to take swift action to mitigate the effects of climate change. In India, he is expected to discuss ways in which the country can accelerate its transition to clean energy and reduce its carbon footprint. 

 Gates Foundation has also joined hands with India’s public sector and CGIAR institutions to support the work of researchers at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI). Gates talked about how they have found chickpea varieties that have more than 10 per cent higher yields and are more drought-resistant than the current ones.