“Heartbroken”: Satya Nadella, Sundar Pichai Support India’s Covid Fight
Mumbai: Microsoft’s Indian-American CEO Satya Nadella and his Google counterpart Sundar Pichai on Monday extended their support for India amid a record increase in coronovirus cases.
Taking to Twitter, Nadella said, “I am heartbroken by the current situation in India. I’m grateful the US government is mobilising to help. Microsoft will continue to use its voice, resources, and technology to aid relief efforts, and support the purchase of critical oxygen concentration devices.”
https://twitter.com/satyanadella/status/1386500849740902403?s=20
Meanwhile, keeping the current situation in mind, Pichai tweeted, “Devastated to see the worsening Covid crisis in India. Google & Googlers are providing Rs 135 crore in funding to @GiveIndia, @UNICEF for medical supplies, organs supporting high-risk communities, and grants to help spread critical information.”
https://twitter.com/sundarpichai/status/1386528938889908231?s=20
Amidst the devastating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, India reported 3.52 lakh fresh coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. This is the highest single-day spike registered since the onset of the pandemic.
Pichai’s tweet also had a link to a blog where Google detailed ways to help with their efforts to fight the worsening situation.
On the blog, Sanjay Gupta, country head and VP, Google India wrote, “Today we’re announcing Rs 135 crore (USD 18 million) in new funding for India. This includes two grants from Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, totalling Rs 20 crore (USD 2.6 million). The first is to GiveIndia to provide cash assistance to families hit hardest by the crisis to help with their everyday expenses. The second will go to UNICEF to help get urgent medical supplies, including oxygen and testing equipment, to where it’s needed most in India. It also includes donations from our ongoing employee giving campaign — so far more than 900 Googlers have contributed Rs 3.7 Crore (USD 500,000) for organizations supporting high-risk and marginalized communities.”
“Google is already helping India with its core information products like Search and Maps, YouTube and Ads. COVID features on Search are available in India, in English and eight Indian languages, that continue to improve localization and highlight authoritative information. “This includes information on where to get testing and vaccines. Maps and Search surface thousands of vaccine sites. Google is also collaborating closely with the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, and with organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to support vaccine awareness initiatives,” said Gupta in the blog.
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