Bill Gates: If kids never develop mentally, suffer from diarrhoea, then what good is Facebook?

1 FEB, 2012, 07.47AM IST, SUDESHNA SEN,ET BUREAU

Bill Gates on improving healthcare, governance, education & philanthropy in India

As a country like India struggles to balance its poverty and inequality with high growth, what is the role of private sector and corporations? How can businesses work with governments, and do you think the Indian corporate sector is doing enough, especially in terms of philanthropy? 

Providing basic food and education is the role of the government. The biggest issue in India is not lack of philanthropy; it's the quality - of the vaccination system, distribution system and nutrition. 

Philanthropy's a nice thing, but no way a substitute to what the state isn't doing. India is lucky to have some philanthropists -people like us and Premjis. Historically you've got the Tata family - Ratan Tata has done a great job carrying on that tradition. You've got Nandan Nilekani, who's gone to work for the government, to work on something important, despite the knowledge that people will not make that all that easy for him. 

There's room for more philanthropy but the real imperative is when you grow as much as India has, and have its level of economic performance, you can do a lot better on health and nutrition and education. 

Philanthropists can help the government. But they're not the ones in charge of the programmes. That's a state role. There's no country in the world that relies on anyone but the state to do basic education and vaccination.