Reliance to bear COVID-19 vaccination costs for employees, their families
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) will bear the full cost of vaccinating its employees and the members of their immediate family, reportedly totaling an estimated 12.2 lakh, the company said in an internal communication. The announcement comes days after India kicked off the crucial second phase of its massive coronavirus vaccination program. Here are more details on this.
'You and your family's safety is our responsibility'
"As per our earlier commitment, Reliance will bear the full cost of vaccination for you, your spouse, your parents, and vaccine-eligible-aged children," said Nita Ambani, the non-executive director of Reliance Industries and chairperson of Reliance Foundation, in a letter sent to all employees. "You and your family's safety and well-being is our responsibility," she added in the message.
'Together, we will win!'
"Mukesh and I truly believe that cherishing the health and happiness of our loved ones is what it means to be part of a family - the Reliance Family...Together, we must win and we will win!"
Reliance ties up with hospitals to roll out vaccination drive
Reliance has tied up with certain hospitals to roll out the vaccination drive for its employees, reports said. The program will cover all the employees of the conglomerate's oil and chemical division, retail unit and telecom venture Jio, their associates, as well as their registered dependents. The company has also urged all the employees who are eligible for jabs to register themselves.
'Committed to contributing to India's fight against coronavirus'
"In our Reliance Family Day 2020 message, Mukesh and I personally assured you that as soon as any approved COVID-19 vaccine is available in India, we will do our best to plan early vaccination for all Reliance employees and family members," Nita wrote. "We remain committed to this goal and to contributing to our nation's collective ability to end the coronavirus pandemic."
TCS, SBI also covering vaccination cost for employees
With the announcement, Reliance has joined the likes of IT giants such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Accenture, and the public sector lender State Bank of India, among other companies, that are bearing the cost of vaccination for their employees and their dependents.
Who is eligible for COVID-19 jab in India currently?
India commenced the second phase of its coronavirus vaccination drive on Monday, under which citizens aged above 60 years and those above 45 but with co-morbidities are being administered vaccine jabs. India, the second worst-hit country in the outbreak, has thus far reported over 1.11 crore coronavirus cases and more than 1.57 lakh deaths due to it, according to Worldometers.
