India Inc shows it cares, helps fill in the gaps | Economic Times

Big companies across sectors are opening their Covid-19-related assistance programmes to the general public, setting up isolation and care centres and vaccination camps as the country battles a devastating second wave of the Covid.PepsiCo said on Monday it is setting up five Covid-care centres spread across Maharashtra, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh with beds and oxygen cylinders. The beverages and snacks maker will also be supplying more than 100 oxygen concentrators to the central government and initiating vaccination drives in these states, said a spokesperson for the company.Ecommerce major Flipkart said it is setting up an oxygen plant to help meet the oxygen shortage being faced by hospitals.Flipkart’s parent company Walmart said in a statement that it plans to donate up to 20 oxygen-generating plants and 20 cryogenic containers for oxygen storage and transportation.82376927US-headquartered Walmart will also give more than 3,000 oxygen concentrators and 500 oxygen cylinders for facilitate oxygen therapy to Covid-19 patients at home or in hospital. Also, the Walmart Foundation is donating $2 million to support various not-for-profit organisations in India working for Covid-positive patients. About $1 million will be allocated through the Walmart Foundation Disaster Relief Fund, and rest will be allocated to GIVE Foundation Inc. to support GiveIndia’s Covid-19 response fund, the company’s statement said.Meanwhile, packaged foods company Nestle is working with several communities to provide relief to Covid-19 affected persons and families. “Primary beneficiaries of our relief efforts include street vendors, Mumbai dabbawallas and waste professionals,” a spokesperson for Nestle India told ET.The second wave of Covid-19 has overwhelmed the country’s healthcare system. States are facing acute shortage of hospital beds, medicines and medical oxygen as the grip of the pandemic tightens and the sick arrive in droves, desperate for medical attention. Incidents of medicine hoarding are adding to the woes.Among the other companies offering Covid-related assistance is the Essar Group. It has set up a 100-bed primary care centre for Covid-19 patients at Devbhumi, in Gujarat, which is equipped with oxygen concentrators."We have converted one of our training centres located in a secluded area into a primary care facility. The local administration is helping us in arranging healthcare staff. We have imported 40 oxygen concentrators from China and will be taking care of house-keeping, catering and overall management of the centre," said Bhaven Bhatt, resident director, Gujarat, Essar Group. The centre will start operations from Tuesday.