These Busines icons stepped up to the rescue from coronavirus.
- Jack Ma
Chinese billionaire Jack Ma (C) showed his benevolent side as he pitched in to help the world fight the novel coronavirus. The founder of e-commerce major, Alibaba, Ma became the most talked about business figure after he said that he would marshall all available resources at his disposal to take on Covid-19. From donating emergency supplies (1.8M masks, 210K test kits, 36K protective suits, plus ventilators & thermometers) to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal, Pakistan & Sri Lanka in Asia to donating 20,000 test kits, 100,000 masks and 1,000 medical use protective suits in each of the 54 African countries, the 55-year-old proved that he was a good Samaritan whose charity was not mapped by geographical boundaries.
2. Anand Mahindra
On Sunday, as the country observed ‘Janata Curfew’ as a mark of appreciation for the selfless help provided by the caregivers, Anand Mahindra (in pic) shared some heartening news with his 7.5 mn followers on Twitter. The Mahindra Group chairman offered to convert Mahindra Holiday resorts as temporary care facilities. He also tweeted that the group will ‘immediately begin work on how our manufacturing facilities can make ventilators’.And that’s not all. He also pledged that the Mahindra Foundation will create a fund to assist SMEs and SMBs, ‘the hardest hit in our value chain’. The business tycoon himself pledged to contribute 100% of his salary to the fund, and keep adding to it over the course of the next few months.
3. Anil Aggarwal
The Executive Chairman of Vedanta Resources Limited showed his generous side as he pledged Rs 100 cr to fight the pandemic. The 66-year-old Anil Agarwal (in pic), who tweeted a picture of his participation in the ‘Janata Curfew’, wrote on the micro-blogging platform that was ‘committing 100 cr towards fighting the Pandemic’. Expressing concern for the daily wage earners, he wrote that ‘we will do our bit to help’.
4. Anand Kripalu
As the pandemic escalates across the states, Diageo India has pitched in as well to keep the spirits high. The global alcohol-beverage manufacturing brand has said that it will re-purpose its 15 units across the country to produce around 300,000 litres of sanitiser to help overcome the shortage.
“The demand for sanitisers is increasing, and we would like to use our manufacturing units to join in the effort to fill the demand-supply gap for sanitisers, so critical at this hour,” said Anand Kripalu, Managing Director and CEO.
Additionally, the British MNC said it will also donate 500,000 litres of Extra Neutral Alcohol (ENA) to the sanitiser industry to make 2 million units (of 250 ml each) hand sanitisers. Diageo has also pledged around 150,000 masks to 5 public health departments across the country for doctors, nurses and caregivers. Apart from that, the international liquor brand has pledged support with a Rs 3 crore health insurance cover for bartenders associated with the Diageo World Class programme in India.
5. Anita Dongre
Designer Anita Dongre has shown her generous side as she pledged a medical fund of Rs 1.5 crore to support small vendors, self-employed artisans, and partners associated with her brand who may not have medical insurance or coverage. The 56-year-old Dongre, who is the founder of the House of Anita Dongre, wrote in a statement on Instagram on Monday that “Considering the swiftness of the crisis, we recognize that not many of them will have resources available to cover a potential medical emergency.” Dongre, whose designs have been donned by Deepika Padukone and the Duchess of Cambridge, tried to add a dash of optimism as she wrote “We are in this together and we will come out on the other side stronger.”
6. Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Vijay Shekhar Sharma has been vocal over the past few weeks about the coronavirus outbreak and what startups can do to survive “these testing times”. On Friday, the Paytm founder announced that he would be foregoing his salary for the next two months to help the Paytm office staff who may need it. And Sharma seemed to have drawn his inspiration from Marriott International President and CEO Arne Sorenson who had announced last week that in light of the financial impact of Covid-19 on Marriott and the hotel industry, he would be giving up his salary for the rest of 2020. In an emotional video posted on Twitter, he had also said that the Marriot top executive team would be taking a 50% pay cut to help the company steer through the challenging times.
7. Ratan Tata
The Tata group (Ratan Tata, left, in pic) is known for its generosity and philanthropy, and going the extra mile in adverse conditions. Just weeks after the Covid-19 outbreak escalated, the manufacturing and auto behemoth has reassured all group companies that it will ensure full payments to their temporary workers and daily wage earners, for March and April, working across their offices and production sites in India. They would be paid even if they fail to report for work due to precautionary measures. Last week, Tata Sons Chairman, N Chandrasekaran (right. in pic), while acknowledging that the pandemic would have ‘a large and deep financial impact on the weaker socio- economic segments of society,’ reassured that all dues to MSMEs would be cleared.
8. Mukesh Ambani
On Sunday evening Mukesh Ambani (in pic) stepped out to the balcony of his Altamount Road residence ‘Antilia’ and showed his gratitude to the country’s caregivers as he clapped his hands and rang the bell. Hours later on Monday, Reliance Industries Limited announced that it is enhancing production capacities to manufacture 100,000 face-masks daily and a large number of protective equipment like suits and garments, for the country’s health workers who are engaged in fighting the novel coronavirus. The oil and retail major also said that it has provided an initial support of ?5 crore to the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. RIL’s Sir H N Reliance Foundation Hospital in collaboration with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, has also set up a dedicated 100-bed centre at Seven Hills Hospital in Mumbai for patients who test positive for Covid-19. The Foundation has also decided to provide free meals to people across various cities in partnership with NGOs.
9. Manu Kumar Jain
Xiaomi India MD Manu Kumar Jain (in pic) on Monday pledged his support to the ongoing battle against the Covid-19 outbreak. The 39-year-old Xiaomi India top boss, in a tweet, reiterated that ‘it’s our duty to support doctors, paramedics & hospital staff!’, and urged other brands to follow suit. Posting an official statement, Jain also said that the Chinese handset major is donating N95 masks to state governments in Karnataka, Punjab, Delhi, government hospitals, and state police starting this week. Apart from masks, it will also be donating hazmat suits to doctors across a few government hospitals like AIIMS.
10. Mrs Nadella
Mrs Nadella on Tuesday did her bit, pledging help to Telangana which happens to be her home state. Anupama Venugopal Nadella (C), wife of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (R), has donated Rs 2 crore to the Chief Minister Welfare Fund to be used to help the poor during the lockdown period. Telangana, like other states in the country, is currently under lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus. A cheque for Rs 2 crore was handed over to Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao by Anupama’s father and former senior IAS officer KR Venugopal.