Google CEO Sundar Pichai and his Microsoft counterpart Satya Nadella assured help to India in its hour of crisis as the country is witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Devastated to see the worsening COVID crisis in India, said Pichai in a tweet on April 26:
"Today we’re announcing Rs 135 Crore ($18 million USD) in new funding for India. This includes two grants from Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, totalling Rs 20 Crore ($2.6 million USD). The first is to GiveIndia to provide cash assistance to families hit hardest by the crisis to help with their everyday expenses. The second will go to UNICEF to help get urgent medical supplies, including oxygen and testing equipment, to where it’s needed most in India," said a statement shared by Pichai.
The statement further said, "It also includes donations from our ongoing employee giving campaign — so far more than 900 Googlers have contributed Rs 3.7 Crore ($500,000 USD) for organizations supporting high-risk and marginalized communities. "
Nadella also tweeted on the same day, saying he was “heartbroken” by the current situation in India. The 53-year-old Indian-American business executive further said he was “grateful” that the US government is mobilizing to help.
This came after US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris assured India and its people of providing all assistance, including urgently sending necessary medical life-saving supplies and equipment, to help the country combat the deadly coronavirus crisis.
Nadella further said Microsoft will continue to use its “voice, resources, and technology to aid relief efforts, and support the purchase of critical oxygen concentration devices.”
India recorded 3,52,991 new COVID-19 cases in a day, the highest so far, according to the Union Health Ministry’s update on April 26. With this, the country’s total tally of COVID-19 cases has climbed to 1,73,13,163 while active cases have crossed the 28-lakh mark, the ministry’s data showed. It recorded 2,812 COVID-19 deaths in the past one day, which took the death toll above 1.95 lakh, as per the data.
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Meanwhile, top US lawmakers rallied behind India urging the Biden administration to provide material and healthcare assistance to help save lives from the deadly coronavirus.
In a rare move, at a time when the Congress is bitterly divided on political lines, Senators Mark Warner from the ruling Democratic party and John Cornyn from the opposition Republican party jointly called on the White House to accelerate its assistance to India. As co-chairs of the Senate India Caucus, we urged them to do everything possible to help our friends in India in the midst of this COVID-19 crisis, Warner said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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