Bill Gates Applauds India’s Leadership in Innovation, Health, and Sustainability: Global Model for the Future

Future Forward, a high-impact global forum hosted by the CII in collaboration with the Gates Foundation and the Women’s Collective Forum, convened today at PM Sangrahalaya, Teen Murti, New Delhi. The forum brought together global industry leaders, policymakers, and investors to accelerate India’s role in driving scalable, sustainable, and technology-driven solutions for global challenges.

The forum featured a keynote address by Mr. Bill Gates, Chair and Board Member, Gates Foundation, who highlighted that India is building the future with its pioneering role in affordable healthcare, AI-powered diagnostics, and digital public infrastructure. He reinforced the importance of scaling India’s innovative solutions globally to address pressing challenges in emerging economies.

“India is not just building for itself, it is creating solutions that have the potential to transfoem global health and development”, Gates added.

Ms. Smriti Zubin Irani, Chairperson, Alliance for Global Good Gender Equity and Equality, commended the Gates Foundation and the leadership of Mr Gates “for putting money where it really matters” while emphasizing the critical role of investment for social innovation calling it “a transformative force that reshapes societies” Mrs Irani spoke about the power fo India in bringing forward low cost, tech-enabled solutions which are are addressing critical glpbal challenges of health, nutrition, food security amongst others.

Mr Gates highlighted India’s rapid advancements, calling its digital ecosystem, inclusive economic growth, and technological breakthroughs a model for the world. “India has made significant progress in health and development through low cost innovations.” Gates said.

Setting the tone for the session, Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, emphasized India’s pioneering role in digital public infrastructure, calling it a blueprint for the Global South. These advancements are not just for India they are shaping global solutions, “A Global Vision with Local Roots” Mr Banerjee noted.

Mr Sanjiv Puri, President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Chairman & MD of ITC Ltd. remarked “ The success of initiatives like the Ayushman Bharat health program and digital financial inclusion, AI powered agricultural solutions,  proves that when policy and technology align, we can create scalable, sustainable solutions that serve as global benchmarks”.

Looking ahead, Mr Gates reaffirmed the Gates Foundation’s commitment to working alongside Indian innovators, policymakers, and entrepreneurs to scale breakthroughs in AI, healthcare, and sustainable development globally.

With a strong focus on action-oriented collaboration, Future Forward set the stage for in-depth discussions on financial inclusion, agriculture, health innovation, and food security positioning India as a global model for sustainable, tech-driven progress.

19 March 2025

New Delhi