Google, Amazon announce financial support to Covid-hit India

Part of the funds will also be deployed to provide cash assistance to families hit hardest by the crisis, the company said in a blog.

Tech companies Google and Amazon have come forward to support India in its time of crisis.

Google on Monday announced funding of Rs 135 crore ($18 million) for the country. About Rs 20 crore ($2.6 million) of the total amount led by Google’s philanthropic arm Google.org has been routed via GiveIndia and UNICEF. The funds will be used to help get urgent medical supplies, including oxygen and testing equipment. Part of the funds will also be deployed to provide cash assistance to families hit hardest by the crisis, the company said in a blog.

The funding also includes donations from the firm’s ongoing employee giving campaign. “So far more than 900 Googlers have contributed Rs 3.7 crore ($500,000) for organisations supporting high-risk and marginalised communities,” Sanjay Gupta, country head and vice president at Google India, said.

The tech company has also sanctioned an additional Rs 112 crore ($15 million) in Ad Grants to local health authorities and non-profits for more language coverage options. Through Ad Grants, Google offers free advertising to non-profits. Such ads appear next to search results when people look for non-profits.

Amazon India, meanwhile has joined hands with ACT Grants, Temasek Foundation, Pune Platform for Covid-19 Response (PPCR), and other partners to airlift over 8,000 oxygen concentrators and 500 BiPAP machines from Singapore. The medical equipment will be donated to hospitals and public institutions across multiple cities, the company said in a blog late on Sunday night.

The company also said it will bear the cost of airlifting the equipment procured through multiple funders, including ACT Grants and PPCR (anchored in the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries & Agriculture). Amazon will also manage the movement of these oxygen concentrators and other donations from the local airport to identified hospitals and institutions. The first of these consignments landed in Mumbai on Sunday, and most of the shipping is expected to be completed by April 30.