Bill Gates congratulates government on Ayushman Bharat, Modi thanks him

The government had recently said that 6,85,000 beneficiaries have availed free healthcare in the first 100 days of the scheme.

Latest News: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates Thursday congratulated the government for the achievements made by the Ayushman Bharat healthcare scheme in its first 100 days.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked Gates, saying the scheme stems out of the government's commitment to provide top quality and affordable healthcare to the poor.

"Congratulations to the Indian government on the first 100 days of @AyushmanNHA. It's great to see how many people have been reached by the program so far," Gates tweeted, tagging the prime minister's office.

The government had recently said that 6,85,000 beneficiaries have availed free healthcare in the first 100 days of the scheme.

In reply, Modi thanked Gates for his appreciation, saying Ayushman Bharat "stems out of our commitment to provide top quality and affordable healthcare to the poor".

Read more → Ayushman Bharat Scheme

Donald Trump unlikely to accept PM Narendra Modi's Republic Day invitation

The sources said India has already shortlisted names of two-three heads of states for extending the invitation to be chief guest at the Republic Day parade.

Latest News: US President Donald Trump is unlikely to accept India's invitation to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations, sources said Sunday.

The US is understood to have conveyed to New Delhi that Trump may not be able to honour the invitation as he will have pressing engagements, including his State of The Union (SOTU) address, around the time India will celebrate its Republic Day.

This comes at a time when Indo-US ties have witnessed some strain after India went ahead and sealed a deal with Russia to procure a batch of S-400 air defence missile systems, notwithstanding US threat of punitive action under CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act).

The sources said India has already shortlisted names of two-three heads of states for extending invitation to be chief guest at the Republic Day parade.

Earlier this year, the US announced sanctions against Russia under CAATSA for its alleged meddling in the American presidential election in 2016.

Read full story → Trump Republic Day Invitation

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News Source: BS & Business Standard