The Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Mr. Bill Gates along with Ms Melinda Gates called on the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley in his office here yesterday . Mr. Gates offered to help in monitoring the progress made with regard to Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), the financial inclusion programme launched by the Prime Minister on 28^th August, 2014. Mr. Gates said that BMGF can help in mapping the different sites across the country and can inform wherever a saturation level with regard to opening of accounts has reached or likely to reach so that focus can be made in other areas.

The Finance Minster Shri Arun Jaitley welcomed the offer of Mr. Gates and said that the proposal will be duly considered. Similarly, Mr. Gates also expressed his desire to extend help in Swach Bharat abhiyan and health related programmes. Shri Jaitley appreciated the work done by BMGF for the people at large in the field of health care, sanitation and financial inclusion.

Financial inclusion monitoring: offer to map account-opening saturation and target outreach, with government to consider collaboration. Offer of assistance by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to monitor implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) through nationwide site mapping to identify account-opening saturation points so focus can be shifted to underserved areas; the Finance Minister welcomed the proposal and indicated it will be considered, and BMGF also offered support for sanitation and health initiatives.