Donating to Fight Coronavirus: Mahindra, Infosys & Others

Donating to Fight Coronavirus: Mahindra, Infosys & Others

Passengers wearing protective face masks wait at a railway station following cancellation of trains in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.

With the number of confirmed coronavirus cases reaching over 470 and seven confirmed deaths, tech executives and giants have come forward to help frontline organisations and healthcare workers to tackle and contain the spread of Covid-19.

Amongst them the is Mahindra Group, Vendanta, Infosys, Cipla and others.

Mahindra ECO Anand Mahindra took to Twitter on 22 March, on the day of the Janata curfew, and announced several measures.

Anand Mahindra Announces a Slew of Measures

Mahindra said he will manufacture ventillators, Mahindra resorts to be used as temperory care facilities and will create a fund to assist the hardest hit in our value chain.

He wrote: “To help in the response to this unprecedented threat, we at the Mahindra Group will immediately begin work on how our manufacturing facilities can make ventilators.” He also wrote, “The Mahindra Foundation will create a fund to assist the hardest hit in our value chain (small businesses & the self employed).”

Cipla to Manufacture Drugs to Treat Covid-19

While Mahindra has spoken about providing all kinds of assistance, Indian Pharmaceutical giant Cipla has voluntarily come forward to manufacture chemicals that could treat Covid-19, The Hindu reported. They are working on three chemical compounds which have anti-viral properties and have sought the help of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) to make the Active Pharma Ingredients (APIs) for the same.

IICT Director S. Chandrasekhar said, “Cipla will be investing substantial resources into the making of the drug which should be in the market in rthe next six months. We will get royalty and this is not the first time we are collaborating with the pharma giant as we had helped them make drugs for AIDS, cancer and others,” said Dr. Chandrasekhar.

Vedanta: Rs 100 cr to Fight the Pandemic

Anil Agarwal who is the executive chairman of Vedanta Resources Limited tweeted on 22 March, “I am committing 100 cr towards fighting the Pandemic. #DeshKiZarooratonKeLiye is a pledge that we undertook & this is the time when our country needs us the most. Many people are facing uncertainty & I’m specially concerned about the daily wage earners, we will do our bit to help.”

Infosys Foundation and Narayan Health Join Hands

Following reports that Infosys Foundation, the charitable wing of the tech giant led by Sudha Murthy had come forward to assist the government, Dr Sudhakar on Tuesday said that Broadway hospital in Bengaluru's Shivajinahar had been identified for the purpose.

“Sudha Murthy has come forward to help us. Infosys Foundation will help us setting up facilities at the Broadway hospital. They will help us add 150-200 beds. They will help us with adding medical equipment like ventilators etc. We are thankful for their support,” he said.

Sudha Murthy, along with Dr Devi Shetty, a renowned surgeon of Narayana Health, had earlier offered to help tackling the spread of COVID-19 by taking over a dedicated government hospital.

Also Read: Sudha Murty, Devi Shetty Offer to Set Up COVID-19 Hospital

Manish Mundra: 100 Ventilators for Govt Hospitals

Manish Mundra, who is an Indian movie film producer and said that he will procure 100 ventilators for government hospital in India. Currently he is in Niegria.

He wrote about why he took up the work of providing ventillators, "I thought as a responsible citizen we should contribute whatever we can. I felt ventilators would be essential. As we are are seeing in European countries, for example in Germany where the level of infection is high but because their hospitals are well equipped, the death rate is low. So I felt ventilators are of essence.”

He also added that there was a need for manufacturing of ventilators within India, “I found out that most of our ventilators are imported in India and majority of the suppliers are from European countries, either French or German suppliers. So you can not expect them to supply anymore because of the current situation. So it's very important that Indian manufacturers gear up and contribute ventilators.”

He also tagged Anand Mahindra in his message, “I also read that a lot of American car manufacturing have started manufacturing ventilators so that's why I tagged him (Anand Mahindra). Meanwhile, I started looking for Indian manufacturers and we have found one and are currently negotiating the supply of 100 ventilators. So any moment from now they are going to confirm the supply schedule, based on that supply schedule I am going to send those ventilators to primarily government hospitals. My idea is to reach the B-tier cities like Bhilwara, Jaipur, Gorakhpur, Vapi so I am looking for government hospitals in B-towns where 2 or 3 ventilators will be sufficient."