PM Modi Tells Bill Gates What's Special About His Recycled Jacket

India is moving ahead at a rapid pace in scaling up its renewable energy capacity in areas such as wind and solar energy and wants to move fast in nuclear energy and green hydrogen, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said.

In an interaction with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, PM Modi talked about India's culture of recycling waste and said the half-jacket he was wearing was made of recycled material. It had been made using spare cloth pieces at tailors' shops and also using recycled plastic bottles, he said.

"Recycling and reusing are inherent to our nature. This jacket is made from recycled material. Even this has a specialty. There are waste cloth pieces at the tailor's shop, all this waste material has been collected. It has been made of old clothes and 30-40 percent waste plastic bottles have been used and all this has been recycled to make the cloth (for the jacket)," PM Modi said.

PM Modi told Mr Gates that the country is making rapid growth in renewable energy and has provided for a corpus fund of Rs 1 lakh crore in the budget to encourage the younger generation to contribute with innovative ideas.

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"I believe we should adopt a two-prolonged strategy. First is innovation, and the goal should be to evaluate environment-friendly and climate-friendly innovations. To this end, India has established a corpus fund of Rs 1 lakh crore in this budget inviting the younger generation to contribute their innovative ideas. We are offering interest-free loans for 50 years to support these innovations," he added.

PM Modi also told Mr Gates about the launch of India's first indigenous green hydrogen fuel cell inland waterway vessel.

"In Tamil Nadu, I launched a green hydrogen fuel cell boat. This environmental-friendly boat ride I have thought of running from Kashi to Ayodhya so that it reinforces my movement for clean Ganga and there is message towards environment-conscious society," PM Modi said.

"There's another important thing we need to focus on in our lifestyle. That's why I started Mission Life, which stands for lifestyle for environment. It's because living a climate-friendly life daily is crucial. If we don't embrace a life that respects nature, it doesn't matter how much external effort we put in and how many new innovations we create. Our way of life should be in sync...our current challenge is how we view progress," he said.

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PM Modi launched a hydrogen fuel cell inland waterway vessel under the Harit Nauka initiative during his visit to Tamil Nadu last month and said it is a gift of the people of Tamil Nadu for Kashi. He said that he witnessed the enthusiasm and affection of the people of Tamil Nadu in Kashi Tamil Sangamam.

India has invested Rs 16.93 lakh crore in the power and renewable energy sectors since 2014, with an additional Rs 17.05 lakh crore in the pipeline. In 2024, India is likely to witness an investment of Rs 1,37,500 crore (about USD 16.5 billion) in renewable energy capacity, which would be higher than 13.5 GW with an investment of Rs 74,250 crore (nearly USD 9 billion) seen in 2023.

PM Modi said that data security is of concern and public awareness is crucial.

"Today, data security remains a paramount concern. While India has a legal framework in place, public awareness is equally crucial."

PM Modi said technology should be used to ease of living of citizens.

"In our country, I have initiated storing all university certificates in the cloud to reduce costs and to fulfill various needs efficiently. Earlier, there was a push for stringent compliance requirements. But I advocated and ensured simplification, and made the data to be uploaded to the cloud with shared IDs, enabling us to access necessary information directly. This approach underscores my commitment to leveraging technology not just to enhance services, but also to significantly improve the ease of living for our citizens," PM Modi said.

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"Also, in the case of deepfakes, it is crucial to acknowledge and present that a particular deepfake content is AI-generated along with the mention of its source. These measures are really important, especially in the beginning. We, thus, need to establish some dos and don'ts," he added.

PM Modi talked about his government using technology to increase the income of people.

"I have launched a programme - NaMo Drone Didi. I have two goals behind this programme- to make 3 crore 'Lakhpati Didis' in the country i.e. making 3 crore women of the country to earn Rs. 1 lakh annually, that too from underprivileged families. I want to modernise agriculture, and I want to ensure women's participation in the same. Today, Drone Didis say - 'We didn't know how to ride a bicycle, but today, we have become pilots, we're operating drones," PM Modi said.

"I am ensuring technological advancements in agriculture too. We are bringing a big revolution, and I want to change the mindset. The technological advancements I am most excited about are in the sectors of health, agriculture and education. I have built around 2 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs in villages. I directly connect these health centres with the best hospitals keeping modern technology as a bridge between the two," he added.

PM Modi said during the G20 Summit in Indonesia, representatives from around the world expressed their curiosity about the digital revolution we've spearheaded.

"I explained to them our foundational approach. We have democratised technology to prevent monopoly. It is by the people and for the people. We're committed to ensure that emerging talent from within the community can continuously contribute and enhance its value to foster trust in technology among people," he said.

"I want to lead a government in which any unnecessary governmental intervention from the lives of the middle-class people gets eliminated. For those in poverty, who genuinely require government assistance, the assistance should be readily available in abundance," he added.