Kolkata: On Saturday, retail titan Walmart and Walmart Foundation announced that along with Flipkart, they will provide a total of ₹46 Crore, in equipment and monetary donations, in a bid help bolster India’s healthcare infrastructure, in its fight against COVID-19. A sizable portion of the donations will go to NGOs and other organizations that are providing relief to businesses and underprivileged communities in these hard times.
In a statement, Flipkart and its parent company, Walmart announced that they will spend ₹38.3 crore to bring in-kind donations into India, in the quest to help with our front-line response.
Furthermore, Walmart announced that they have secured 3 lakh N95 masks and 10 lakh medical gowns and will continue to leverage their global supply chains to deliver these critical equipment to medical professionals.
Additionally, Walmart Foundation will donate a total of ₹7.7 crore to Srijan and Goonj. These NGOs are supporting impoverished communities through the crisis. So, the funds will be used to support the procurement of essential relief materials, such as food, medicine, and hygiene items, to be distributed to farmers, rural communities, and the micro-businesses.
Kathleen McLaughlin, Executive VP and Chief Sustainability Officer for Walmart and President of the Walmart Foundation said,”Our customers and associates in India have been deeply impacted by COVID-19 and our hearts continue to be with them.
“In times like this, we all need to come together to support our communities and the efforts of health-care workers, NGOs and government organizations,” she insisted.
“Our Flipkart teams are working around the clock to respond to the COVID-19 crisis with care and compassion. The emergency relief efforts we are announcing today underscore our commitment to continuing to work with the private and public sector in India to respond to this unprecedented challenge,” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart Group.
Walmart and Flipkart are taking important steps to help protect public health and the safety of customers and associates while keeping supply lines open, to ensure that Indian consumers have access to essentials, during this global crisis.
Their efforts include enhanced hygiene practices across the supply chain and delivery network, contactless deliveries where possible, insurance and health benefits for their workers and enhancing the cashless payment network.
Flipkart has focused on several measures to empower lakhs of sellers and Small or Medium Business (SMBs) on their marketplaces while trying to find the most effective way to ensure full resumption of operations.
They said that their support teams are providing constant counsel and on-ground support to sellers and helping them resume operations, quickly. Moreover, Flipkart announced a three-month moratorium on existing loans, special offers on its growth capital programme.
Corporate India has been rushing in to help the government and citizens fight the coronavirus pandemic.
Tata Group and Tata Trust have jointly pledged ₹1,500 crore, while Wipro Ltd, Wipro Enterprises Ltd and Azim Premji Foundation have directly invested ₹1,125 crore. Some leading companies have extended their support by providing sanitizers, masks and meals to the public.