Global financial services giant Goldman Sachs on Thursday announced an additional USD 10 million support to help India fight the surge in COVID-19 infections and deaths. The US-headquartered firm will provide support for frontline health facilities in cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi, including ongoing vaccination efforts through the help, an official statement said. Frontline health facilities include portable COVID-19 care centers, oxygen concentrators and generators, and isolation care units at homes for non-critical patients from low income communities, it said, adding funds will also be deployed on mental wellbeing to aid a faster economic recovery in communities.
The company joins a slew of multinationals including Google, Apple, Microsoft and Blackstone, who have announced to render help to India, after the second wave of pandemic. Over the last few days, India has been officially reporting over 3 lakh new infections and over 2,000 deaths a day due to COVID-19. Medical infrastructure in the country is already under tremendous pressure and experts say the wave is expected to hit a peak not before mid-May. “India is home to three Goldman Sachs offices and we have a responsibility to respond and provide our firm’s support and assistance,” its chairman and chief executive David M Solomon said.
The firm has already committed USD 1 million to India in 2020, during the first wave of the pandemic towards distribution of food and essential supplies to help displaced segments of the population due to the pandemic. “We are proud to support India in combating this crisis, helping to augment its medical infrastructure and drive vaccination efforts,” its chairman and chief executive for India, Sonjoy Chatterjee, said.
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