Bill Gates said in the Fifth Ramnath Goenka Lecture that India has the potential to become a global innovation centre
- ByStartupStory | March 2, 2023
On Wednesday, in New Delhi, Bill Gates, a philanthropist, technology pioneer, investor, and co-chair and Trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, gave the fifth Ramnath Goenka Memorial Lecture.
During his speech on Wednesday, Bill Gates stated that the initial 25 weeks of the Covid outbreak reversed 25 years of advancement in global healthcare, and even now, three years later, the health systems of many nations have not fully recovered. He further added that the pandemic acted as a catalyst for a wave of healthcare innovation in India.
Delivering the Fifth Ramnath Goenka Memorial Lecture, Bill Gates stated that “India has the potential to become a centre of innovation and resourcefulness, supported by its achievements in vaccine development and digital public infrastructure platform”. He believes that India can pave the way for a new era of international partnership that can overcome the world’s most significant challenges.
Bill Gates emphasised the potential of innovation to bridge gaps and highlighted India’s position in the “big, global innovation boom.” He recalled that in 1998, when he was at Microsoft, the company decided to establish a development centre in India because they were aware of the significant role that India would play in the global innovation ecosystem. India would not only benefit from new breakthroughs but also contribute to innovation and scaling of breakthroughs. Gates believes that “India has the capability to develop high-quality yet affordable innovations and facilitate their rapid adoption, as demonstrated by the success of vaccines”.
Bill Gates emphasised India’s crucial role in addressing major global challenges, such as climate change and healthcare. He highlighted India’s contributions, including cost-effective innovations such as the rotavirus vaccine, which has saved lives worldwide. He also praised affordable solutions like producing biofuels and fertilisers from waste, which can help mitigate climate change.
During his speech, Gates commented on the issue of climate change, stating that “most of the emissions come from wealthy countries, yet the most severe consequences will impact middle and lower-income countries near the Equator”. He described this as an enormous injustice and emphasised the urgent need to act immediately and decisively. However, he acknowledged that a challenge with combating climate change is the “green premium” associated with producing products without greenhouse gas emissions. Green jet fuel and cement, for example, are twice as expensive. Gates believes that the climate crisis presents an innovation challenge that can ultimately reduce the green premium.
Bill Gates mentioned that the issue of “climate change requires innovation on a massive scale to enable the world to achieve net-zero emissions, without having to bear the extra cost of transitioning to environmentally friendly practices”.
In an earlier session under India’s G20 presidency, Bill Gates praised India’s digital networks and payment systems, specifically mentioning Aadhaar. He commended the country for having reliable and affordable connectivity, which he believes will make it the world’s most affordable 5G market. The session was centred around the theme of “Building Resilient and Inclusive Economies – The Promise of Digital Public Infrastructure.”
The recent lecture delivered by Bill Gates marked the first Ramnath Goenka lecture following the pandemic. The lecture series, named after the founder of The Indian Express, has previously been delivered by prominent figures such as former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, former President of India Pranab Mukherjee, former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, and current External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
The lecture was attended by notable figures including Chandrasekhar, Vice Chairman of Niti Aayog Suman Bery, Niti Aayog Member Dr VK Paul, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran, Bharat Biotech Founder and Chairman Dr Krishna Ella, Plaksha University Vice Chancellor Rudra Pratap, Medanta CMD Dr Naresh Trehan, and Srinath Reddy from the Public Health Foundation of India.
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