Google, Amazon, Blackstone Join Global Race to Fight India Covid Crisis

Ambani's Reliance, Tata Steel Ltd., ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India and JSW Steel Ltd. are among manufacturers that have diverted thousands of metric tons of liquid medical oxygen from their plants.

As Indian authorities and hospitals struggle to cope with record Covid-19 infections and deaths, companies ranging from the nation's biggest conglomerate to global giants like Amazon.com Inc. are stepping in to help ease the crisis. Devastated to see the worsening Covid crisis in India. Google & Googlers are providing Rs 135 Crore in funding to @GiveIndia, @UNICEF for medical supplies, orgs supporting high-risk communities, and grants to help spread critical information.https://t.co/OHJ79iEzZH Reliance Industries Ltd., controlled by Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani, the Tata group, global drug giants like Gilead Sciences Inc., technology titans such as Alphabet Inc. are all rushing in supplies and funds. Blackstone Group Inc.'s Chairman Stephen Schwarzman said his private equity firm is committing $5 million to support India's Covid relief and vaccination services to "marginalized communities." With haunting visuals of mass funeral pyres, long lines of ambulances outside overcrowded hospitals, and desperate pleas on social media for oxygen canisters, the unfolding tragedy is prompting some of the biggest corporations to organize aid for a country they view as a crucial market with 1.3 billion consumers. India's federal and state governments, grossly unprepared to tackle the latest coronavirus wave, have also encouraged the non-state sector to help narrow the vast chasm of shortages. Most critical has been the unavailability of medical oxygen, and a bulk of the efforts have been directed at boosting supplies. Ambani's Reliance, Tata Steel Ltd., ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India and JSW Steel Ltd. are among manufacturers that have diverted thousands of metric tons of liquid medical oxygen from their plants. Others such as consumer giant ITC Ltd. and the Adani Group -- controlled by India's second-richest man Gautam Adani -- are shipping in cryogenic tanks, and offering portable concentrators and generators.