CSR Funds to fight coronavirus in India

In a few weeks, India has seen a huge rise in the number of people affected by Coronavirus. A developing country like India which is still building its health infrastructure is way behind the developed countries of the western world and autocratic nations like China.

Billionaires and Corporations all over the world are making huge donations to fight this pandemic which has converted a few countries into prisons. India, which is known for its philanthropic industrialists, is not behind.

Today, the Finance Minister of India, Ms Nirmala Sitharaman clarified in a statement about spending CSR funds for COVID-19.

Mr Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group, faced severe backlash from Left-Wing trolls when he shared on Twitter that he will support PM Narendra Modi’s clarion call of appreciating people who are risking their lives in providing essential services. He was also one of the first to announce that he will donate his entire salary to fight this Wuhan virus pandemic. He also announced other measures in which the Mahindra Group will help the nation fight this epidemic.

Vedanta Group Chairman, Mr. Anil Aggarwal, announced a fund of Rs. 100 crore to fight Coronavirus. Vijay Shekhar Sharma of Paytm has contributed Rs. 5 crore towards development of drugs to fight Coronavirus.

Manish Mundra, the producer of acclaimed and offbeat movies such as Ankhon Dekhi, Masaan, Newton and Dhanak, earned the respect of millions by donating a huge amount to people affected by Delhi riots. He did not stay behind even here and was one of the first few individuals to announce a personal contribution in fighting coronavirus. He pledged an amount of Rs. 3 Crore to procure 70 ventilators and provide them to the cities of Bangalore/Cochin/ Jaipur/ Mumbai/ Jodhpur/ Deoghar.

DCB Bank has made an announcement committing to spend INR 1 crore for intervention and measures to manage the outbreak of COVID-19 in India. Focusing on extending the fund to support the underprivileged during this time, the bank aims to deploy this fund within the next 3 months.

ITC’s Savlon has partnered with the state Government of Kerala on its recently announced mass handwashing campaign ‘Break The Chain’. The brand has undertaken the responsibility of supplying Handwashes, free of charge, to ensure ready availability at all the booths set up by the government in public spaces to curb the spread and help take preventive care. In addition to this, ITC Savlon has also been consistently working towards increasing awareness on the necessary precautionary and preventive measures. For this, it has set up an expert panel headed by a leading medical practitioner to answer questions on the subject. So far more than 150 questions in multiple languages have been directly addressed on social media through its Ask the Expert campaign.

State Bank of India has announced to commit 0.25% of its annual profit (FY 2019-20) to fight the outbreak. The bank will be using the fund to support health care for underprivileged people in cooperation with health care professionals and industry. Some of the initiatives will centre around the promotion of healthcare, including preventive health care and sanitation and disaster management. Kaka-Ba hospital, the CSR wing of Cadila Pharmaceuticals, in association with Gujarat Police distributed masks and sanitizer bottles to the police team in the vicinity of Dholka in the wake of the outbreak. Since gathering of people is not advisable in the current scenario, along with the masks, an awareness video talking about the virus, how it spreads and the importance of handwashing was sent to the staff through WhatsApp. While self-quarantine is not possible for the police staff, they were informed about the importance of social distancing and what all steps they can take to protect themselves through infographic pamphlets.

MG Motor India announced a donation of Rs. 2 crores for the government hospitals and health institutions providing medical assistance in Gurugram and Halol (Vadodara), where the carmaker’s facilities are located – to ensure the health and well-being of the medical staff and underprivileged sections of society. While INR 1 crore contribution will come from the company directly, its employees have also pledged to donate another INR 1 crore.