Mr. Bill Gates Hails India’s Digital Finance Approach, Calls it ‘Global Model’

On December 8, technology leader Mr. Bill Gates praised India for its policies on financial inclusion and innovation.

Mr. Gates even confirmed that his philanthropic foundation is partnering with other countries to carry out open source technology based on India’s approach to policy implementation.

He said, “If people are going to study in a country other than China right now, I’d suggest they should look at India. Things are really booming there, and creativity is phenomenal around that structure.”

Mr. Gates praised India for developing ambitious universal identification and digital payment systems that include the largest biometric database in the world and a framework for sending rupees between any bank or smartphone app. According to him the policies have enabled reduction in the cost and friction of helping the vulnerable.

As per the info, the Unified Payments Interface, or UPI, was supported by booming smartphone use and wireless data rates after demonetisation in 2016. These are considered among the world’s lowest.

Currently India has required companies (Facebook Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Walmart Inc., Paytm, etc.) to use its UPI platform so that all providers can submit payments easily. There is also no usage fee scheme that needs to be maintained.

India’s biometric system called Aadhaar, meanwhile has raised privacy concerns as it can also be used for citizen surveillance by the government. Nonetheless, nations like Russia, Morocco and Bangladesh have voiced interest in the strategy.

On the production of COVID-19 vaccines, Mr. Gates suggested that it should be done in an equitable way to resolve the issue. He said that his foundation partners with multinational suppliers, ensuring that adequate dosage numbers are delivered at fair prices. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in India is working with the Serum Institute.

Source: IBEF