Coronavirus Outbreak: Wipro, Azim Premji Foundation commit Rs 1125 crore to tackle COVID-19 crisis

Wipro Group and the philanthropic foundation led by its founder Azim Premji have together committed Rs 1125 crore towards tackling the unprecedented health and humanitarian crisis arising from the coronavirus outbreak, the company said on Wednesday. 

These resources will help enable the dedicated medical and service fraternity in the frontline of the battle against the pandemic and in mitigating its wide-ranging human impact, particularly on the most disadvantaged of our society, the company said. 

The contribution is jointly made by Wipro Ltd, Wipro Enterprises Ltd and Azim Premji Foundation. 

Azim Premji, the Founder Chairman of Wipro, is known for his philanthropic activities and has donated much of his personal wealth to charitable activities. 

The company said in a press release that integrated action will be taken for a comprehensive on-the-ground response in specific geographies, focused on immediate humanitarian aid, and augmentation of healthcare capacity, including containing the COVID-19 outbreak and treating those affected by it. 

"These responses will be carefully coordinated with relevant government institutions and would be executed by the Azim Premji Foundation’s 1600-person team, in collaboration with many of its over 350 strong civil society partners, who have a deep presence across the country. These efforts will fully leverage the technology expertise, sourcing systems, infrastructure, and distribution reach of Wipro," it said. 

Of the Rs 1125 crore, Wipro Ltd’s commitment is Rs 100 crore, Wipro Enterprises Ltd’s is Rs 25 crore, and that of the Azim Premji Foundation is Rs 1000 crore. These sums are in addition to the annual CSR activities of Wipro, and the usual philanthropic spends of the Azim Premji Foundation, the press release said.

"Modern global society has not confronted a crisis of this magnitude and type. The Azim Premji Foundation and Wipro believe that we must all work together to not only deal with this crisis and minimize its human impact, particularly on the disadvantaged, but also learn from these extraordinary times, to develop a more resilient global community, based on justice, equity, humaneness, and ecological sustainability," it said. 

India has so far recorded 1,637 positive cases while death toll is at 38.

Globally, 8.6 lakh cases have been recorded while over 42,000 lives have been lost in the pandemic.