Liquor firm Beam Suntory, the maker of premium whiskey brands Jim Beam, Yamazaki and Hibiki, has pledged a donation of $600,000 (about Rs 4.4 crore) to support India’s Covid-19 relief measures. The fund will be used to increase access to medical care in the hardest-hit areas and help on-trade partners impacted by the deadly second wave of the pandemic.
“We are proud to stand with Beam Suntory and our team members in India to support urgent public health needs and hard-hit communities as India confronts the alarming surge in coronavirus cases,” said Tak Niinami, CEO of Suntory Holdings.
The donation will support organisations such as British Asian Trust, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and government agencies and local authorities in the areas affected by the second wave.
In partnership with hospitality apex body National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), the liquor firm will focus the funds to support recovery efforts in the food and beverage industry and vaccination cover needed by staff of the association members. Last year, Beam Suntory had already made a Rs 1 Crore donation to the NRAI to support restaurant and bar workers.
“The pandemic has been a tragedy globally, but the current situation in India has hit close to home for us, as it has impacted many of our team members, their families, and communities,” said Albert Baladi, president-CEO of Beam Suntory.
Headquartered in Gurugram, the India chapter of Beam Suntory has bottling facilities in Behror (Rajasthan) and Goa. Beam Suntory estimates to build a USD 1 billion business in India by 2030.
“This is a very difficult time for India and the support we are receiving from Beam Suntory and Suntory leadership has been an inspiration,” said Neeraj Kumar, Beam Suntory’s managing director of India.
India has been battling the second wave of the deadly pandemic and registering a record number of Covid-19 cases daily that has put extreme pressure on the country’s healthcare infrastructure. Hospitals in several states are facing shortage of health workers, vaccines, oxygen, drugs and beds.
Top companies from across the globe have been making donations towards India’s Covid relief efforts. Microblogging giant Twitter donated USD 15 million, a move following similar donations by tech giants Google and Microsoft a month ago. The Lego Group, one of the largest toy makers in the world, has pledged a donation of USD 1 million to nonprofit Save the Children India to provide relief for families and children affected by the second wave in Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and West Bengal.
French IT firm Capgemini committed Rs 50 crore to be used for building Covid care ICU facilities, oxygen generation plants and for relief operations.
(SBI) has allocated Rs 71 crore to undertake various Covid-related initiatives. Facebook, Apple and Amazon have also extended support in India’s fight against Covid-19 by donating oxygenators, breathing machines and ventilators.
In the last 24 hours, the country’s Covid caseload hit 2.37 crore with 3.62 lakh new infections. The death count has touched 2,58,317 with 4,120 people dying of the infection, as per the data updated on Thursday morning by the Union Health ministry. Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu account for 82.51% of the total active cases.
