Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, often credited for making Hyderabad an IT hub, has shared insights into how Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates became his “good friend” after initially refusing to meet him for the first time.
In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Mr Naidu said that he and Bill Gates are currently working on a “very interesting” and “game-changer” project in the health sector.
Mr Naidu shared that Bill Gates was in New Delhi during the 1990s when he was serving as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Mr Naidu wanted to meet him, but was informed by officials that Bill Gates was busy and "didn't have any work with politicians.".
Mr Naidu remained adamant and informed the tech billionaire that he wanted to share a few ideas with him.
“Then he (Gates) offered me to come and join the cocktail party. At that time, there was a stigma that if you go there, you are also in that party. So, I said no,” Naidu said.
After “great difficulty,” Bill Gates agreed to meet Chandrababu Naidu for 10 minutes. The 75-year-old worked hard to prepare a presentation for a week. During their meeting, the Andhra CM highlighted the "strength of India”.
"Everything I explained to him," Mr Naidu added.
Mr Gates was "very much impressed" by the presentation. He asked the chief minister how he could help. To this, Mr Naidu replied, “Don't do anything for me. You believe in India, and also don't forget about Indians."
Mr Naidu told the Microsoft co-founder that if he was planning a development centre outside of Seattle, then he should consider Hyderabad. A proposal that became reality in 1998.
Although Mr Gates granted only 10 minutes to Mr Naidu, the meeting lasted for 45 minutes. Mr Naidu also went to Seattle to hold a discussion with Mr Gates, which was followed by a joint press conference.
MrNaidu shared that this is how he "cultivated" his friendship with the tech billionaire. The result was Microsoft's first development centre outside Seattle.
"This is how things will happen dramatically sometimes. Now he has become a good friend. Recently, he came and we had a very good meeting," Mr Naidu told NDTV in the exclusive interview.
On their new project, Mr Naidu shared that the Gates Foundation is looking forward to working on three core sectors -- health, agriculture and education.
He stated that this is aimed at making health "totally" online, making real-time monitoring possible with AI, among others.
"That will be very interesting. It will be a gamechanger in the health sector," he added.
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