Corporates lending supporting hand to India in its fight against Covid

The second wave of Covid pandemic is raging in India. The country is reporting increasing case loads everyday with rising fatalities. And critical medical supplies like oxygen and some drugs are in short supply, aggravating the problem. Against this backdrop, pledge of support of 40 US companies is a welcome move. On Monday, CEOs of some 40 top American companies have come together to create a global task force to mobilise resources to help India fight the battle against Covid-19. The task force has committed to get 20,000 oxygen concentrators to India in the next few weeks. Such support is critical as some states are in dire need of this input. Moreover, it indicates the global business community's support towards India's problems.

Though done purely on a humanitarian basis, global corporate houses including Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Tesla, Accenture, IBM, and thousands more are increasingly depending on the Indian talent and market for driving business growth. In this perspective, Google CEO Sundar Pichai has announced that the tech giant will be giving Rs 135 crore ($18 million) in new funding for India to support its fight against the deadly virus. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that Microsoft will use its resources and technology to support India during the crisis. Similarly, Apple's chief executive Tom Cook said that company will be making donations and aid relief efforts on the ground.

While global corporate houses are lending their supporting hands towards the Indian fight now, Indian businesses are already lifting the weight for last 15 days. Starting from Reliance Industries to JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Adani Group to many small and medium businesses are providing critical support to the central and state governments to meet the requirement of oxygen and drugs.

India's crowning glory, its startup ecosystem is also gearing up. Delhivery cofounder Sahil Barua posted on Linked that the company will be flying charters with its airline partners for carrying oxygen concentrators and other essentials. Shailendra Singh, managing director at Sequoia Capital, tweeted that the fund house is pursuing efforts to import oxygen concentrators to India. ACT Grants, an organisation founded by 34 founders and corporate leaders and 44 mainstream funds, including Accel, Kalaari Capital, Ankul Capital, LetsVenture, and Lightspeed, also stepped up its efforts and is in the process of raising Rs 75 crore to support India's action against the pandemic. Not to mention that most Indian corporate houses have announced that they will vaccinate their employees for free.

These moves reflect the social responsibility of business houses during the hour of crisis. Enterprises not only thrive at the time of prosperity, they also make room in people's hearts during the crisis hour. And Indian corporate houses along with the global businesses are discharging their duties during this pandemic, which is a strong signal that society and businesses are inclusive. While there are many business houses adopting this golden rule, there are many individual business men, who are trying to profiteer from this crisis by hoarding drugs and other essentials. This is deplorable. When India fights one of its worst crisis since independence, we should show resilience as a society by coming together and not by acting as vultures to make profit out of this crisis.