The Ahmedebad-based Torrent Group has committed Rs 100 crore to fight the coronavirus pandemic and joined the list of Indian corporates like Reliance Industries, Infosys, ONGC and Mankind Pharma which announced similar contributions on Monday.
The Torrent Group senior management said the Group has committed Rs 50 crores by way of contribution to the PM CARES Fund and another Rs 50 crores under various initiatives such as providing essential medicines to various government hospitals free of cost, contributions to state government relief funds, contributions to NGOs doing grassroots work to address the issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, and provision of PPEs to healthcare workers.
Besides, the Torrent Group will ensure that all employees, including thousands of contract and construction workers working under its contractors, are paid full wages for the entire duration of the lockdown and the entire cost of the same will be borne by the Torrent Group, which runs Torrent Pharma and Torrent Power as its main business.
The Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has committed Rs 500 crore to the PM CARES Fund, besides Rs 5 crore each to the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Infosys Foundation had also today committed Rs 100 crore to the PM's Fund. Another major corporate funding today was from state-run Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), which donated Rs 300 crore from its CSR funds and Rs 16 crore contribution from two days salaries of its employees.
The Delhi-based Mankind Pharma has also committed Rs 51 crore to the PM CARES Fund and will donate ventilators, personal protective equipment (PPE) and medicines to the states reporting maximum COVID-19 cases.
Corporate groups like the Sajjan Jindal Group and Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta had earlier committed Rs 100 crore each, besides a Rs 1,500 crore commitment from the Tata Group.