Growth of Indian economy a real positive: Bill Gates on his conversations with Warren Buffett

New Delhi [India], February 29 (ANI): Bill Gates, co-founder of tech giant Microsoft, investor and philanthropist, on Thursday spoke about his long friendship with investment guru Warren Buffett and noted that they talk about good things going on in the world and the growth of the Indian economy is definitely a real positive. 

In an interview with ANI, Gates said the strength of India today, in terms of economic growth and innovation, is very exciting. 

He said that the growth of the Indian economy comes up in his discussions with Buffett and his associate, Ajit Jain.

"I've been friends with Warren for a long time, over 30 years, and we really never had much overlap in our businesses...we had a very similar view of the world, we love talking to each other. I talk to Warren many times a month about all the different things going on, and he did decide at one point, although it was a complete surprise to me, to funnel some of his generosity through the Gates Foundation. So that's allowed us to be even more ambitious. But our friendship is basically independent of that...Warren hasn't been to India a lot, so he wouldn't claim any deep knowledge. But as we talk about good things going on in the world, the growth of the Indian economy is definitely a real positive," Bill Gates said

He said India's thrust on education is paying off and lauded political competition in a democracy for  providing better amenities to people.   

"I think the strength of India today, in terms of economic growth and innovation, is very exciting. That's why companies like Microsoft has 25,000 people here that do absolutely amazing work. That developed over 25 years, and so a foundation was laid of educating people and now that's paying off. It's nice to see you've got a government where some of the political competition is, I'll run the health system better than they do, I'll make the schools better than they do. And so, you know, I think democracy, it's a magic system, you know, when it works well, you know, that it's not just my group deserves a turn, but rather, you know, my group will grow the pie for everyone, improve the economy, improve health and improve education" Gates said.

Gates says that each time he visits India, he feels that innovation in India is at a higher level.

"So the entire time I've been coming here, you know, every time it's like, wow, Indian innovation is at a much higher level. And the health statistics, you know, they're being honest about, okay, this is where we are. This is what's improved. You know, if the foundation has some way of helping out, they're great to partner with," he noted.

In a recent viral instagram post Bill Gates posted about his experience about having a cup of tea at the famous Dolly Chaiwala in Nagpur. In his post, Gates said "In India, you can find innovation everywhere you turn-even in the preparation of a simple cup of tea!"

Gates further revealed that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has extensive plans to continue its work in India.

"What are the plans ahead for the foundation, the long-term plans regarding India? We do more in India than in any other country in the world. We're proving out here in India things like how do we finally solve malnutrition. We do some work in agriculture. We do some work in sanitation. We're pretty broad here, and we feel great about the partnerships we have. And so it's, you know, we have very ambitious goals that will benefit not only India, but the entire world," Gates said. (ANI)