Google India pledges Rs 109 crore grant for Covid-19 relief works

In late April 2021, India was struck with the deadly second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. It left a devastating effect on lakhs of people. Major reason was the country's public health centres were just not good enough in handling the Covid-19 cases.

After more than two months of harrowing time, the country is seeing a steady decrease in infections. But, it is advised not to lower our guard just yet as experts are cautioning public there is chance of third wave in the coming weeks.

Children are said to be more vulnerable to the next wave and given the fact that the under-18 population is yet to vaccinated. It becomes imperative to exercise the Covid-19 safety protocol until all are vaccinated.

Now, the philanthropic arm of search engine giant Google on Thursday (June 17) announced $15 million (approx. Rs 109 crore) grant to the Covid-19 relief efforts in India.
Google.org will support procurement and installation of approximately 80 oxygen generation plants in healthcare facilities in high-need and rural locations with new grants of approximately Rs 90 crore to GiveIndia and approximately 18.5 crores to PATH.

“As India slowly emerges from the crisis of the past few months, it’s been humbling and inspiring to see individuals, communities, institutions, and governments work together to manage the impact on a scale we haven’t experienced before. Our focus at Google has been on making sure people have the information and tools they need to stay informed, connected, and safe. We’re now broadening our COVID-19 support to helping strengthen India’s healthcare infrastructure and workforce -- especially in rural areas. With these new commitments, Google is proud to be supporting our partners as they build a bigger, better-equipped healthcare system, help India steady itself after the second wave, and lay the foundations for a sustainable and future-ready healthcare system,” said Sanjay Gupta, Country Head & Vice President, Google India.

Furthermore, Google is also collaborating with Apollo Medskills to help upskill 20,000 frontline health workers through specialised training in COVID-19 management and strengthen the stressed rural health workforce and rural health systems.

Additionally, Google.org will be donating Rs 3.6 crore grant to ARMMAN to run skilling programs for 180,000 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) and 40,000 Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) in 15 Indian states. ARMMAN will also use the grant to set up a call center to provide additional help and advice for ASHAs and ANMs where required.

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