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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

By Aashika Jain

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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. 
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