Ola Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Ola, announced on Monday that it’s partnered with donation platform GiveIndia to supply customers with oxygen concentrators, joining a growing list of companies donating to relief efforts within the midst of the deadly second wave of the COVID pandemic. The service, which can be available for free of charge via the Ola app, will begin rolling call at Bengaluru in the week, with an initial range of 500 oxygen concentrators. Ola and GiveIndia will supply up to 10,000 concentrators within the approaching weeks.
As India grapples with the aftermath of the second wave, hospitals in many states are suffering from a lack of medical oxygen and beds. People searching for oxygen tubes, hospital beds, plasma donors, and ventilators are flooding social media timelines. “During these pandemic times, we have to support our communities. We hope that this initiative steps will provide much-needed support to all affected people during these tough times”, said Ola Chairman and Group CEO Bhavish Aggarwal.
Customers use the Ola app to order an oxygen concentrator by providing little simple information. When the order is submitted, it’s validated, and Ola will devour the concentrator in one among its cabs with a specially trained driver and deliver it to the consumer’s door. If the patient has recovered and no longer requires the concentrator, Ola will pick it up and return it to GiveIndia, where it will be ready for the next patient who requires it.
Organizations from all walks of life have stepped forward to source and donate oxygenators, breathing machines, and ventilators. Razorpay announced that it has introduced a ‘Donate Now’ feature on all of its merchants’ payment checkout pages, allowing its retailer partners to nudge their customers to donate any amount after completing their payment. Within 7 days of its launch, over 2,000 merchants had allowed the feature, and nearly Rs 20 crore had been collected by partner NGOs through Razorpay’s platform.
The 3D printed splitter, created by Social Hardware, is a ventilator expansion system that allows a single ventilator to assist up to four patients during a period of acute equipment shortage. Limelight IT solutions’ IoT-enabled Chief Beta (Industrial IOT Gateway) can easily tap into the oxygen supply lines of hospitals and allied healthcare institutions to track, conduct audits, identify and send leakage warnings.
Paytm announced that it is offering its Payment Gateway services to all registered NGOs across the country at no transaction fees – on donations of up to Rs 10 lakh – to assist them in securing the maximum resources for fast and smooth COVID relief work. According to iCreate, three startups it has incubated, have introduced vital health-tech devices that will assist in modifying ICU ventilators to accommodate multiple patients and augmenting large-scale oxygen supply chains.
Collabera Technologies, another technology company, announced that it has transformed its office in Gotri Baroda (Gujarat) into a COVID Care Centre for its workers and immediate family members. Individuals with moderate symptoms may also visit the center, which is fitted with oxygen concentrators. Intuit, a software company, is taking several steps, including launching a donation matching campaign in which workers can donate to relief efforts and have their contributions matched 2:1 by Intuit.
