‘Heartbroken’, says Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella as he pledges support to India amid raging COVID-19 second wave

US has decided to provide the much needed aid to India just before the country is set to ramp up its vaccination drive from May 1. (File image)

Satya Nadella on second COVID wave: As India is battling a highly dangerous and much bigger second wave of the coronavirus, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has taken to Twitter to say that he was heartbroken by the situation that is prevalent currently in the country. Adding that he was glad that the US government had decided to mobilise to help India, he stated that Microsoft would also continue to help in relief efforts with the use of its voice, resources, technology, as well as the support of purchase of critical oxygen concentration devices.

I am heartbroken by the current situation in India. I’m grateful the U.S. 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.

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— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) April 26, 2021

Also read | Google CEO Sundar Pichai pledges assistance of Rs 135 crore as India struggles with challenging COVID-19 second wave

Last year, amid the first wave of the novel coronavirus, Microsoft had incorporated within its Bing browser an AI bot that would allow people to self-assess whether they were at risk of having contracted the COVID-19 infection. Redmond had also launched a Bing coronavirus tracker to offer online consultations by partnering with several online healthcare providers like Practo, Apollo Hospitals, etc, and it had customised its Bing COVID-19 tracker to provide information in regional Indian languages to help the Indian audience.

Notably, Nadella’s tweet came hours after the US administration announced that it would be sending out raw materials required for manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines in India after Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval spoke to his US counterpart Jake Sullivan on Sunday. For the past few weeks, India had been facing issues in the manufacture of Covishield vaccine as the US had restricted the export of raw materials required for the vaccine, saying that it would follow an “Americans first” policy.

However, as the cases in India continued to rise, the pressure mounted on the US to come to India’s aid, as the Biden administration came under the criticism of the global community. The global support India has seen in this issue, at least to some extent, has been due to the fact that ever since the vaccines were given approvals in India, the country has not only been carrying out an extensive immunisation drive itself, but has also been providing vaccines on various diplomatic terms to nations in need in large numbers.

Now, though, the US has decided to provide the much needed aid to India just before the country is set to ramp up its vaccination drive from May 1 to allow all people above the age of 18 years to get vaccinated. The decision of the Biden administration is being widely appreciated.