Bill Gates praises PM Modi’s ‘Swachh Bharat’ mission

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ When the world’s most successful businessman appreciates a political leader’s efforts, one knows that it is rather a big deal. Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft has written in glowing terms about PM Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat mission and how it has changed the lives of millions of women in India and which is well on way to doing the same for the rest too.

PM Modi gathered much support from the public at large when he talked about putting an end to open defecation two years ago and the continuous efforts towards achieving the goals are now paying off. Gates himself has elaborated the same in a blog that he wrote on his website www.gatesnotes.com.

Gates pointed out that Modi was one of the first political leaders who actually talked of the problem of open defecation and highlighted the importance of solving this huge problem during his first address to the nation on Independence Day. Gates in his blog said that he can’t think of another political leader who has done the same, ever.

Gates wrote, “When you factor in the deaths, sickness, and lost opportunity, poor sanitation costs India more than $106 billion a year.” And not just talk about it, the PM has seriously implemented it and is tracking it to ensure the mission is accomplished on due date – which is 2019. The mission is to install 75 million toilets throughout the country.