As the CoronaVirus unfolds in India people from many walks of life are coming forward to help the government fight the pandemic. The auto industry giant Anand Mahindra of the Mahindra Group has offered to convert his holiday resorts to temporary care facilities. He has mobilised production of ventilators which are critical for saving lives. He has also pledged 100% of his salary to the fund. Chairman of the Vedanta group London based Anil Agarwal has promised 100 million rupees to fight the pandemic. Diageo India the global beverage manufacturing brand has pledged to produce 300,000 litres of sanitiser to help overcome the shortage. Anand Kripalu CEO of Diageo also undertook to supply 150,000 masks for doctors, nurses and other medical staff. The company is also providing 3 crore rupees around £300,000 worth of insurance cover for its staff. Designer Anita Dongre whose designs have been worn by the Duchess of Cambridge has set up a medical fund of 15 crore rupees to support vendors, artisans and partners associated with her brand. Vijay Shekhar Sharma founder of Paytm has donated 2 months of his salary to help his staff. Ratan Tata of the famous Tata Group pledged full payment to all his temporary and daily wage earners. His Taj group of companies is providing free vegetarian meals to all government hospital doctors. Tata Trusts have further committed rupees 500 crore in addition to that Tata Sons are giving rupees 100 crore. The Axis bank has donated 100 crore rupees and waived all online bank charges. Mukesh Ambani of the Reliance Group of companies and the richest man in India is to manufacture 100,000 masks daily as well as large numbers of protective equipment like suits and garments. He has also set up a 100 bed centre at Mumbai’s Seven Hills hospital for Cornius Virus patients. He is also supplying free meals across the cities with the help of NGOs. The Ambani family have also pledged 500 crore rupees to the Central Government and 5 crore rupees to the Maharashtra Government. Nita Ambani has also announced a donation of 100 crore. Manu Kumar Jain of Xiaomi is to donate NPS masks to state governments of Karnataka, Punjab, Delhi and to government hospitals as well as the state police. Anupama Venugopal Nadella wife of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has donated 2 crore rupees to the Chief Ministers fund. Hero Cycles has set aside 100 crore rupees as a contingency fund to fight the virus. Film stars and sports men and women have all pledged significant amounts of money. Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, film stars Amitabh Bachchan ,Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, Amir Khan and many others have pledged significant amounts of money. Telegu film star Pawan Kalyan and
Tamil film star celebrity Rajnikanth has also pledged substantial amounts of money. Faith groups have also come forward. Palitana Jain Sangh has donated 11 crore rupees. Jain leaders Kumarpal and Kalpeshbhai Shah have declared that they would raise upto rupees 5000 crore within a day if the Prime Minister Modi needed it. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kajeriwal has praised the Radha Soami
organisation, Akshay Patra, I.S.K.C.O.N and Sikh Gurudwaras for their part in distributing food to the poor and needy. BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha has also started food distribution in the city of Amdavad. Sri Jalaram Mandir Virpur has also announced a huge donation to fight the virus. India’s biggest philanthropist Azim Premji is also expected to make a huge donation. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Individuals and communities Prime out the country are helping the elderly, the lonely and the handicapped. Even animals are being given food. The Prime Minister is proving to be a leader who takes inspiration from Lord Ram who ruled with utter concern and compassion for his people. This scenario destroys the myth often circulated that Indian’s lag behind in Philanthropy.
Nitin Mehta
Surat, India.