Melinda French Gates uses Paytm at kirana store in Delhi

Melinda French Gates using Paytm at a local store in Delhi. (Image credit: Screengrab from video tweeted by @BMGFIndia)

American philanthropist Melinda French Gates visited a village in Delhi during her India trip and interacted with the residents there amid her packed schedule.

French Gates was Garhi village in the national capital on Wednesday, where she interacted with India Post Payments Bank customers and its elderly women pensioners.

She also used digital payment app Patym to make a purchase at a kirana or a local store. In a video shared on social media by Gates Foundation India, the billionaire was seen holding a plastic bottle of mineral water in one hand. In the other hand, she held up a phone and scanned Paytm’s QR code placed in front of the shop.

.@melindagates visited Garhi Village in New Delhi and witnessed how India's #digital public infrastructure is enabling #financialinclusion. @gatesfoundation @IPPBOnline @IndiaPostOffice @RBI @UIDAI @NPCI_NPCI pic.twitter.com/XPbjjiRej2

— Gates Foundation India (@BMGFIndia) December 7, 2022

Earlier this week, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock too used Paytm to make a payment in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk market where she went for shopping during her official visit to India.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and CEO of Paytm, had said it was an experience of India's “world class digital payment infrastructure”.

“Welcome all #G20 delegates and foreign dignitaries India and experience India's world class digital payment infrastructure, just #PaytmKaro,” Sharma tweeted.

Melinda French Gates, who is the co-founder of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, on Wednesday met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow.

Uttar Pradesh received logistics and technical support from the foundation amid the challenges of Covid. We are grateful to the foundation," the statement quoted the chief minister as saying.

Adityanath also invited French Gates for the investors' summit in February.

She met Foreign Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Tuesday and the day before that, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.

The Gates Foundation has been working in India for many years in areas of health and women empowerment among others.