Wipro Ltd, Wipro Enterprises Ltd and Azim Premji Foundation have together committed Rs 1125 crore towards tackling the unprecedented health and humanitarian crisis arising from the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. The company said that these resources will help enable the dedicated medical and service fraternity in the frontline of the battle against the pandemic and in mitigating its wide-ranging human impact, particularly on the most disadvantaged of our society.
A statement by the company said, “Integrated action will be taken for a comprehensive on-the-ground response in specific geographies, focused on immediate humanitarian aid, and augmentation of healthcare capacity, including containing the COVID-19 outbreak and treating those affected by it.
“These responses will be carefully coordinated with relevant government institutions and would be executed by the Azim Premji Foundation’s 1600-person team, in collaboration with many of its over 350 strong civil society partners, who have a deep presence across the country. These efforts will fully leverage the technology expertise, sourcing systems, infrastructure, and distribution reach of Wipro.”
Of the Rs 1125 crore, Wipro Ltd’s commitment is Rs 100 crore, while Wipro Enterprises Ltd has pledged Rs 25 crore. The Azim Premji Foundation alone has contributed with Rs 1000 crore. These sums are in addition to the annual CSR activities of Wipro, and the usual philanthropic spends of the Azim Premji Foundation.
The tech giant said, “Modern global society has not confronted a crisis of this magnitude and type. The Azim Premji Foundation and Wipro believe that we must all work together to not only deal with this crisis and minimize its human impact, particularly on the disadvantaged, but also learn from these extraordinary times, to develop a more resilient global community, based on justice, equity, humaneness, and ecological sustainability.”
Earlier, Tata Trusts and Tata group together had pledged Rs 1,500 crore – by far the highest by any corporate. Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has committed a further Rs 500 crore to the Prime Minister”s COVID-19 fund, topping up over the multi-crore initiative of India”s first coronavirus hospital, meals to the needy, and fuel to emergency vehicles, reported news agency PTI.
Naveen Jindal-led JSPL has pledged Rs 25 crore to the PM-CARES FUND.
