Coronavirus outbreak: Sundar Pichai donates Rs. 5 crore to GiveIndia
Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet and Google, has donated Rs. 5 crore to support COVID-19 relief efforts in India. The donation matches with the contribution of Google.org, the charitable arm of the internet giant, and comes at a time when coronavirus cases continue to increase across several Indian states. Here's all you need to know about it.
Much needed cash for daily wage worker families
Just a few hours ago, GiveIndia, a non-profit organization that raises funds for several charities through an online platform, took to Twitter to thank Pichai for his donation worth Rs. 5 crore. "Thank you @sundarpichai for matching @Googleorg's Rs. 5 crore grant to provide desperately needed cash assistance for vulnerable daily wage worker families," the organization said to the Indian-origin CEO.
So far, the organization has raised over Rs. 12 crore
While GiveIndia's tweet didn't say anything else about Pichai's contribution, the donation surely marks a major push for the fund-raiser led by the organization to support vulnerable COVID-19-hit families. At the time of writing, with the inclusion of Pichai's contribution, the total amount of funds raised by the organization for providing meals and hygiene kits has gone close to Rs. 13 crore.
However, this is not the only donation from Google
Beyond this, under the helm of Pichai, Google has also committed $800 million to support health workers, governments, and small businesses bearing the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. This includes $250 million in ad grants to help the WHO and 100 other government agencies that provide critical information around COVID-19 and $20 million in ad grants to community financial institutions and NGOs.
$200 million investment fund
Separately, Google has also committed $200 million to an investment fund aimed at helping financial institutions and NGOs around the world to provide much-needed capital to small businesses hit by the viral outbreak.
Other corporates also helping in the fight against COVID-19
Along with Pichai and Google, other Indian corporates have also been donating to support the fight against the novel coronavirus disease. Tata Trusts and Tata Sons have collectively donated Rs. 1,500 crore, Wipro Ltd, Wipro Enterprises Ltd, and Azim Premji Foundation have committed Rs. 1,125 crore, while Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries has donated Rs. 500 crore to PM CARES fund.
