Bill Gates Calls India's Demonetization Drive A Bold Move

The Microsoft founder Bill Gates called the move a bold one, which he believes will deflate India's shadow economy

learn more about Aashika Jain

By Aashika Jain

Twitter

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Bill Gates is all praise for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetization drive.The Microsoft founder Bill Gates called the move a bold one, which he believes will deflate India's shadow economy.

"The Prime Minister's bold move to demonetise high-value denominations and replace with new notes with high security features is an important step to deflate India's shadow economy," Gates said.

In a total surprise move, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1000 making these notes invalid in one of the boldest crackdowns on black money and corruption in India.

The PM said post November 8 midnight, the currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 would be only paper, with no value and would no more be legal tender.

India is at the brink of a digital revolution with digital payment wallets swelling in number.

Among the popular digital wallets that have risen to the occasion are Vijay Shekhar Sharma-backed Paytm, Kunal Shah's Freecharge, Mobikwik, Paynimo, PayU Money and RuPay, which are aggressively campaigning to benefit from the opportunity.

Gates said India has all the pieces in place for a compelling vision for digital financial inclusion and said digital transactions would enhance transparency and reduce leakages

Gates added that Aadhaar will convert a cumbersome, paper-based account opening process into a 30-second, all-digital system along with creating a centralized data repository.

Aashika Jain

Entrepreneur Staff

Former Associate Editor, Entrepreneur India

Journalist in the making since 2006! My fastest fingers have worked for India's business news channel CNBC-TV18, global news wire Thomson Reuters, the digital arm of India’s biggest newspaper The Economic Times and Entrepreneur India as the Digital Head. 

Related Topics

News and Trends

Ashneer Grover And His Sarcastic Tweet After 2nd BharatPe Co-Founder Sues Him

The BharatPe story seems to never tire of throwing up new plot twists and updates on a regular basis.

News and Trends

Uravu Labs Raises $2.3 Million In Seed Funding

With the funding, the startup aims to take a significant step towards commercializing renewable water solutions, primarily directing the funds towards scaling up and forging new partnerships with leading players in the hospitality and beverage sector to expand their reach and impact

Leadership

5 Winning Habits That Will Transform Your Leadership Skills

Ready to take your leadership skills to the next level? Discover the five winning habits that will transform you into an exceptional leader!

Living

The 10 Benefits of Conflict

What we stand for in the workplace largely determines our levels of success.

Career

6 Tips for Building a Business Growth Mindset in Adolescents

Here are a few tips for nurturing entrepreneurial and growth mindsets in adolescents.