Indian companies win praise in US for helping coronavirus fight

India's Mahindra Group won applause from the top echelon of the Trump administration, as it re-purposed its manufacturing facility in Michigan to produce face-shields for healthcare professionals attending the COVID-19 patients in America.

“Thank you to the Mahindra Group for rising to the occasion and using your facilities to manufacture life-saving equipment,” Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State tweeted.

The Mahindra Automotive North America (MANA) is producing not only face-shields in its facility at Auburn Hills in Michigan, but also aspiration boxes from the plastic polycarbonate otherwise used to make windshields for the vehicles manufactured by it. The aspiration boxes protect the nurses and doctors from being infected by the COVID-19 while attending patients at the hospital.

The aspiration boxes produced by the MANA have been in high demand due to innovative ease-of-use design.

Not only the MANA, the other Indian companies operating in the US too have started contributing to fight against the COVID-19 or to help local authorities and people deal with the impact of the lockdown and other curbs imposed to contain the pandemic – be it by providing food and accommodation to the healthcare professionals or by offering Information Technology solutions for teachers to take online classes for students.

With over 80% of the schools in the US shut due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the teachers are adapting to virtual classes and many families have been forced into homeschooling children. The Infosys Foundation in the US has responded to the need for well-curated content, utilizing the existing infrastructure of the online platform of its “Pathfinders Institute” initiative – a national professional development program for hundreds of public school teachers from underserved school districts across the US.

The Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is also offering its flagship STEM education programs, virtually and free to access, for all students and teachers across the US.

The OYO Hotels in the US are offering free stays to medical professionals and first responders fighting the COVID-19, so that they can sleep, shower or just get some rest and recharge. “All of us at OYO are grateful for the bravery and sacrifices all the medical personnel are making to save lives and stop the spread of COVID-19,” Ritesh Agarwal, founder and Group CEO, OYO Hotels & Homes, was quoted saying in a document compiled by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in North America.