Walmart, Flipkart commit Rs 46 cr to support India's COVID-19 fight

Walmart Inc, Walmart Foundation and Flipkart on Saturday said they are are supporting India's COVID-19 response by donating personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers and funds for organisations providing essential relief materials to farmers and small businesses.

Walmart Inc and e-commerce major Flipkart will spend Rs 38.3 crore towards in-kind donations into India to help with the front-line response efforts, a statement said.

"The companies will focus on providing PPE, such as N95 masks and medical gowns, for distribution by non-government organizations (NGOs) to public healthcare workers.

"Walmart and Flipkart have already secured 300,000 N95 masks and 1 million medical gowns, and they will continue to leverage their global supply chains to source these critical necessities for medical workers...," it added.

In addition, Walmart Foundation is donating a total of Rs 7.7 crore to Goonj and Srijan -- NGOs supporting vulnerable communities through the crisis.

The funds will be used to support the procurement of essential relief materials, such as food, medicine and hygiene items, for distribution by the organisations to support farmers, rural communities, and the micro-businesses, the statement 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 these, we all need to come together to support our communities and the efforts of healthcare workers, NGOs and government organisations," Walmart Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, and President of Walmart Foundation Kathleen McLaughlin said.

The statement noted that Walmart and Flipkart are making various efforts, including following enhanced hygiene practices across the supply chain and delivery network, insurance and health benefits for workers, contactless deliveries where possible and supporting cashless payments.

"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, Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said.

Corporate India has been rushing in to help the government and citizens fight the pandemic.

Tata Trusts and Tata group together have pledged Rs 1,500 crore, while Wipro Ltd, Wipro Enterprises Ltd and Azim Premji Foundation have together committed Rs 1,125 crore. A number of other companies have extended support by providing sanitizers, masks and meals to people.