Impressed By Modi's Commitment To Fighting Poverty: Bill Gates

Gates said Modi has been 'quite outspoken' on open defecation, a subject one hears much less about.

"It may seem surprising when you think about all the innovation coming out of India, but 630 million people there defecate in the open because they don't have access to a commode. Worldwide, the number is 2.5 billion people," he said, adding that creating good sanitation options for people is a big focus of the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.

Gates discussed with the Indian leader the opportunity to design 21st century toilets that do not need big sewage systems and water treatment plants.

He praised Modi for being 'generous' with his time with them even though his office was busy with the visit of Chinese President Xi Jingping and the floods in Jammu and Kashmir.
"Judging from our time there, it sounds like he's setting aggressive goals and pushing people to get them done quickly. He's having a lot of intense meetings with various ministers, asking them, What can you do in 100 days? Can you make your goals more concrete? More ambitious?," Gates wrote.
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