Follow Gates’ example, share wealth with poor, PM tells India Inc

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked India Inc to emulate the example of Bill Gates to share their wealth with marginalised people after the Microsoft co-founder was conferred the prestigious Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development.

Hailing Gates as a “unique business leader,” Singh said while others have shown how to create wealth from knowledge, very few have worked as hard and as selflessly as him to share that wealth with marginalised people.

“I very much hope that many more Indians…more of our business leaders and our wealthy will learn to share their wealth with the people of their country, by investing in their education, their health and the care of the elderly and the disabled,” he said at a function at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

After presenting the Rs 25 lakh award to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, President Pratibha Patil said Gates transformed the world of computers and became the richest person on the planet and later launched the mission to transform the lives of people.

Observing that his extraordinary success as a businessman has been overtaken by his even more extraordinary impact as a philanthropist, Congress President Sonia Gandhi said at the function, “Yours is an example that we in India ought to emulate.”

The award has been given to the Foundation in recognition of its pioneering and exemplary philanthropic work around the world and in India in the health sector, especially in helping fight disease and illness in the developing world.

Noting that this honour was bestowed on people in public life, political leaders, scientists and social activists, Singh said Gates was the first business leader to receive this prestigious award. “In this, as in so much else, he breaks new ground.”

Indira Gandhi gave the country the watchword ‘Garibi Hatao’ (banish poverty), the Prime Minister said, adding there could be no better tribute to her memory than to recognise some of the most outstanding works being done to eradicate poverty worldwide.
Singh said his government has taken up very ambitious progammes for the social and economic uplift of people.”There is still so much to do…” he said.

The Foundation has been actively working here in the field of health and development

In 2003, the foundation launched Avahan, a 10-year initiative to support India’s efforts to reduce the spread of HIV. To achieve this the foundation has been working with vulnerable communities like sex workers, drug injectors, and men having sex with men, among others, in six states of the country.