Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on Wednesday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to combat the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Commending PM Modi’s bid to flatten the curve in India, the co-founder of Microsoft said, “We commend your leadership and the proactive measures you and your government have taken to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 infection rate in India, such as adopting a national lockdown, expanding focused testing to identify hot spots for isolation, quarantining, and care, and significantly increasing health expenditures to strengthen the health system response and promote R&D and digital innovation.”

Gates said he is glad that the Indian prime minister’s government tapped its exceptional digital capabilities as a formulated response to Covid-19. “I’m glad your government is fully utilising its exceptional digital capabilities in its COVID-19 response and has launched the Aarogya Setu digital app for coronavirus tracking, contact tracing, and to connect people to health services.”

“Grateful to see that you’re seeking to balance public health imperatives with the need to ensure adequate social protection for all Indians,” the former CEO of Microsoft told PM Modi.