New Delhi, 19 September 2014: Bill Gates, Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced emergency relief of USD 7 lakh (INR 4.26 crore) for the flood victims of Jammu & Kashmir, in response to a request for his home state from Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, MoS in Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Space & Atomic Energy.
The announcement was made by Bill Gates when he called on Dr. Jitendra Singh here today to discuss mutually shared areas of interest.
Dr. Jitendra Singh and Bill Gates talked about shared areas of focus, including the existing Memorandum of Understanding between the Foundation and the Department of Biotechnology/ Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) for their Grand Challenges initiative. This initiative promotes Indian Innovations in the areas such as sanitation and malnutrition, to help all children survive, thrive and reach their full potential.
Bill Gates said, “I share the Minister’s belief in the power of technology to change the world and I applaud his commitment to harnessing the power of Indian innovation to save lives, through initiatives such as Reinvent The Toilet Challenge: India”.
