Google, Microsoft step forwards to assist India, announces Rs 135 crore in funding to support India
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New Delhi, April 26: As India continues to grapples with a ravaging coronavirus crisis, leading tech firms Google and Microsoft CEOs Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella have come forward and announced help to the country in this difficult time.
According to the announcement, Google and its teams are providing Rs 135 crores to UNICEF and GiveIndia in order to facilitate medical supplies, help organisations that are supporting high-risk communities, The donation includes two grants from Google.org, Google's philanthropic arm, totaling Rs 20 crore.
It also includes donations from Google's ongoing employee giving campaign — so far more than 900 Googlers have contributed Rs 3.7 crore for organizations supporting high-risk and marginalised communities.
"The first is to GiveIndia to provide cash assistance to families hit hardest by the crisis to help with their everyday expenses. The second will go to UNICEF to help get urgent medical supplies, including oxygen and testing equipment, to where it's needed most in India," said Sanjay Gupta, Country Head, and VP, Google India.
Google also announced a slew of measures to help increase awareness, information on vaccines, testing, and more. “We know the biggest way we can help is through our core information products like Search and Maps, YouTube, and Ads. Our COVID features on Search are available in India, in English, and in eight Indian languages, and we continue to improve localization and highlight authoritative information. That includes information on where to get testing and vaccines; so far, Maps and Search surface thousands of vaccine sites, and we are working to add tens of thousands more,” the company said in a blog.
Satya Nadella led Microsoft said his company will continue to use its resources and technology for relief efforts and support for buying oxygen devices. He added, he was "heartbroken" by the current coronavirus situation in India
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"I am heartbroken by the current situation in India. I'm grateful the US government is mobilizing to help. Microsoft will continue to use its voice, resources, and technology to aid relief efforts, and support the purchase of critical
oxygen concentration devices," tweeted Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella from his official Twitter account.
Indian-American tech leader, Vinod Khosla co-founder of Sun Microsystems had announced a fund for hospitals in India to build up their supply of oxygen containers and concentrators among other essential supplies – an opportunity that appealed to India’s biggest hospital chains. Apart from it, Balaji Srinivasan, a Silicon Valley investor, has also announced a donation of up to $100,000 for COVID-19 relief in India.
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