(Our Bureau, June 18) Sundar Pichai-led Google will invest ₹113 crore ($15.3 million) to strengthen healthcare infrastructure in India’s rural areas in their fight against COVID-19. In a statement, the company said that it will invest ₹109 crore to support healthcare facilities and a further ₹3.6 crore to help upskill frontline workers. The Mountain View, California, headquartered company has tied up with NGOs such as GiveIndia, Apollo Medskills, ARMMAN, and PATH to fulfill these commitments.
“Google is proud to be supporting our partners as they build a bigger, better-equipped healthcare system, to help India steady itself after the second wave, and lay the foundations for a sustainable and future-ready healthcare system,” Sanjay Gupta, country head and vice president, Google India told Business Line.
In the last five years, the software giant has granted funds to the tune of $57 million to India. In April this year, Pichai had announced $18 million for COVID-19 response. This included two grants to provide cash assistance to families hit hardest by the crisis, and UNICEF to help get urgent medical supplies. In April 2020, Pichai had made a personal contribution of ₹5crore to GiveIndia to help with the first wave of the pandemic.
- See Sundar Pichai’s tweet announcing the grant and follow him on Twitter and Instagram
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