On Thursday, Home Minister Rajnath Singh urged Mr.Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft. To adopt 1000 indian villages in Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand that are affected by Violence due to left wing extremism (Maoism). He has asked him to make them “model villages” by focusing on proper sanitation and cleanliness.
The meeting between the Co-Chair and trustee of the Gates foundation, and Mr. Rajnath Singh took place at the North block. The meeting seemed to be convened in the light of the home ministry’s recent order to cancel Licence of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) earlier given to Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI). PHFI is a health advocacy group which is majorly funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).
This FCRA licence allows NGOs or other associations to receive foreign funds . The RSS or Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s economic arm, Swadeshi Jagran Manch had recently submitted a ‘white paper’ on the influence of BMGF on Indian’s overall health sector. The Home ministry has then canceled this license and although, the meeting seemed to be a way to discuss that, a spokesperson for the Gates foundation reported that the cancellation of the FCRA licence for PHFI, was not discussed in the meeting.
The spokesperson further reported that, “Mr. Gates’s meeting with the Union Minister of Home Affairs focused on the progress made in our partnership with the government across the foundation’s priority focus areas — health, urban sanitation, digital financial inclusion and agricultural development. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is committed to working collaboratively with the Government of India in providing global and local technical expertise to advance the country’s ambitious development goals,”
Mr Gates apprised the Home Minister of the new sanitation technology which also happens to be a lot more cheaper, in treating the “Feacal Sludge”. Mr. Gates also suggested the new guidelines should be issued to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for including a certain mandatory levels of “salts and oils” in the food that is served under the universal health programmes.
Further the Gates Foundation official also said “He wants India to introduce handheld spectroscopes for dry spectral soil analysis that can be used by farmers in India,”
Later, after the meeting the Ministry issued a statement that said, “The Home Minister appreciated the welfare works being undertaken by the BMGF. He requested Mr. Gates to initiate health awareness programmes in India and suggested that the Foundation should concentrate on developing villages and make them Model Villages so that the local people get inspired,”
