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Indian Donations Soar As COVID-19 Pandemic Widens;$134 Million of Azim Premji Donates

Quick on the heels of the Indian government’s announcement of a $22 billion relief package to support the poor as COVID-19 spreads, personalities from across the business, sports and entertainment communities have also come forward with donations over the last few days.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced a new fund to help deal with emergency situations like the coronavirus. Called the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund, or PM CARES Fund, the fund has already been attracting contributions from a variety of individuals and corporate entities. The government has now opened up the fund for foreign contributions from both by individuals and institutions. A total of 1,764 people have tested positive in the country and there have been 50 deaths.

Here are some of the highlights of the recent contributions to the fund or the wider battle against COVID-19:

IT czar Azim Premji committed Rs. 1000 crore ($134 million) through his philanthropic arm, the Azim Premji Foundation. In a release on Wednesday, the company said that the foundation’s 1,600 employees will work together with the government and healthcare workers. The money will be used for humanitarian aid and for beefing up healthcare support targeted at containment and treatment of the disease.

Software developer Wipro Limited has committed another Rs.100 crore ($13 million), while engineering services company Wipro Enterprises Limited has donated Rs 25 crore ($3.3 million).

“These sums are in addition to the annual CSR activities of Wipro, and the usual philanthropic spends of the Azim Premji Foundation,” the company said.

Meanwhile, India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani has contributed Rs. 500 crore ($67 million) to the prime minister’s fund; Rs. 5 crores ($660,000) for the relief fund of the chief minister of Maharashtra, Ambani's home state, and an equal amount for the relief fund of the chief minister of Gujarat state, where Reliance's biggest refinery complex is located. This follows a slew of measures announced by Ambani that range from setting up a 100-bed COVID unit in Mumbai to providing free meals across multiple cities to a daily production of 100,000 masks by Reliance.

Ratan Tata, who chairs India’s oldest philanthropic outfit, Tata Trusts, the biggest shareholder of the group's holding firm, Tata Sons, has earmarked Rs. 500 crore ($67 million) towards tackling the pandemic. This sum is said to include covering the costs of protective gear, ventilators, testing kits; the establishment of modular treatment centers and training for healthcare workers.

Tata Group Chairman N. Chandrasekaran pledged an additional Rs. 1000 crore ($134 million) to support activities in collaboration with Tata Trusts. He said that the Tata Group is getting ready to manufacture ventilators soon.

Privately held Mankind Pharma, whose founder Ramesh Juneja and his family figure among India's richest, has promised Rs. 51 crore ($7 million) toward relief activities. The New Delhi company, which makes everything from vitamins to antibiotics to condoms, will be donating ventilators, protective gear and medicines. Mankind’s 14,000 employees have contributed one day of their salary to the promised amount.

Two-wheeler manufacturer TVS Motor Company will be giving Rs. 25 crore ($3.3 million) to the prime minster’s fund. It’s corporate social responsibility arm -the Srinivasan Services Trust - pledged Rs.5 crore ($660,000) to the Tamil Nadu chief minister’s relief fund. The company is also manufacturing and supplying one million protective face masks across the southern state of Tamil Nadu, where it is headquartered. Additionally, the company’s factory kitchens have been pressed into service to supply packed and cooked meals to healthcare workers, police personnel and municipal workers.

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Ride-hailing major Ola -which is backed by investors such as Chinese Internet service giant Tencent - has announced a Rs. 20 crore ($2.7 million) fund for its drivers called “Drive the Driver” Fund. Founder Bhavish Aggarwal has contributed his annual salary to this fund. This is aimed at providing emergency support and essential supplies to drivers. This will be the start of a crowdfunding campaign which hopes to raise Rs. 50 crores ($6.7 million). Ola has also offered 500 cabs to the Karnataka government for emergency transportation.