Covid pandemic was not government vs virus, but life vs virus: PM Modi in conversation with Bill Gates

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his conversation with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, opened up about the policies and steps taken by his government to combat rumours regarding vaccines for COVID-19 in the country.
PM Modi, when Gates asked about how the PM managed the communication with the people during the pandemic that rumours regarding vaccines were controlled here in India unlike other parts of the world, said that he himself used to set examples in front of people.
"Firstly, I forced people to become educated about the virus that the fight against it is for everyone. This was my first philosophy that- this is not a virus versus government, but life versus virus. Secondly, I started communicating from day one, directly to the people of my country. I myself started following all the protocols publicly," the PM said.
PM Modi further highlighted how trust was built between the people and the government due to his efforts.
"I started taking everything publicly as an example in front of people. Then I told them to clang vessels, light the lamps. In our country, there was a great effort to make fun of it. But I had to take people into confidence that we had to fight this fight together. When this confidence was formed that we had to save our lives and the lives of others, a kind of mass movement was formed. In a democratic way, you can't work with a stick. You have to educate people, convince them, and take them along," the PM said, adding, "I took the vaccine myself. And my mother who was 95 years old at the time also took the vaccine publicly. So, I made an example and showed it to people."
The PM also said that his government, if elected to power again, will work towards eradicating cervical cancer.
"In the coming days, I want to talk about cervical cancer, especially for our daughters. I want to give a budget to our scientists in India. And I want to tell them to do local research on this as well and make a vaccine. And with very little money, I want to vaccinate all the daughters in my country. I am working in that direction these days. When my new government is formed, I want to invest a lot of money in research in that direction," PM Modi said.
PM Modi and Bill Gates engaged in a compelling discussion covering a range of critical issues, from Artificial Intelligence (AI) to climate change mitigation and women's empowerment.