Google and Amazon have stepped forward to assist India in its time of need. Google revealed funding for the country of Rs 135 crore ($18 million) on Monday. Approximately Rs 20 crore ($2.6 million) of the total sum raised by Google’s philanthropic arm Google.org has been routed via GiveIndia and UNICEF. The funds will be used to purchase critical medical supplies such as oxygen and testing equipment. According to the company’s blog, a portion of the funds will also be used to provide cash assistance to families who have been hit the hardest by the crisis.
Donations from the firm’s current employee giving program are also included in the funding. “So far, over 900 Googlers have donated Rs 3.7 crore ($500,000) to organizations that help high-risk and marginalized communities,” said Sanjay Gupta, country head and vice president at Google India.
In addition, the tech company has approved an additional Rs 112 crore ($15 million) in Ad Grants to local health authorities and non-profits for expanded language coverage. Google Ad Grants provide non-profits with free advertising. When people search for non-profits, those advertisements appear next to the search results.
Meanwhile, Amazon India has collaborated with ACT Grants, Temasek Foundation, Pune Platform for Covid-19 Response (PPCR), and other partners to transport over 8,000 oxygen concentrators and 500 BiPAP machines from Singapore. The medical equipment will be donated to hospitals and public facilities across multiple cities, according to a blog post published late Sunday night by the company.
The company has stated that it would bear the expense of airlifting the equipment obtained from a variety of funding sources, including ACT Grants and PPCR (anchored in the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries & Agriculture). Amazon will also coordinate the transportation of these oxygen concentrators and other donations from the local airport to designated hospitals and institutions. The first of these shipments arrived in Mumbai on Sunday, and the majority of the shipping is expected to be completed by April 30.
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