Sonia sets Bill Gates benchmark for India Inc: We dont have a truly visionary philanthropist

Elaborating,she said that in 1912,Sir Ratan Tata provided funds to the University of London to study poverty and its eradication and a trust in his name plays a pioneering role in the social sector. There are other examples of Foundations set up by various Indian business houses. Many of them command resources. But it must be said that we are yet to produce a truly visionary contemporary philanthropist, she said.

Complimenting him for belonging to the finest traditions of American philanthropy, Gandhi said: I hope that,in addition to inspiring entrepreneurs and software engineers all over India,you also inspire successful Indian businessmen and women to recognise that it is not only governments who are responsible for the uplift of the poor,the afflicted and the marginalised. Civil society too has an important role to play most of all those whose business triumphs equip them to transform the lives of others.

Gandhi said that it was examples like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which have given meaning to the idea that successful businessmen can look beyond the bottom line,and even beyond conventional ideas of social responsibility,to actually conduct philanthropy on the principles of modern management.

Instituted in 1986,the Indira Gandhi Prize has so far been conferred on 21 individuals and organisations including former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev,UNICEF,former US President Jimmy Carter,Bangladesh Grameen Bank Chairman Muhammad Yunus,former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.

In his address,Gates said that after more than 10 years into the Foundations work,they were more optimistic than ever. The phenomenal progress weve seen in India is one of the main reasons for our optimism. The National Rural Health Mission is already spurring innovation at the local level and generating impressive results. The proposed National Urban Health Mission could do the same, he said promising to be best partners as India continues in this critical endeavor.

Gates said that India had two advantages that together can trigger major breakthroughs in health. First,you have the proven ability to innovate; second,you have a keen appreciation for the urgency of the situation. I have always been a big believer in the power of innovation. As a businessman and as a philanthropist,I have found that progress happens fastest when a new discovery or a new idea generates a new way to approach an old problem, he said.