Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that the company is committed to using its resources to support India's pandemic relief efforts, and that the company is mobilising to meet the country's most pressing needs.

With more than 3,00,000 new coronavirus cases registered daily in the last few days, India is dealing with a second wave of the pandemic, and hospitals are running out of medical oxygen and beds.

“We are committed to using our resources to support pandemic relief efforts in India and are mobilising to address the country’s most urgent needs, partnering across the business community with US Chambers (of Commerce) to provide critical medical supplies,” says, 53-year-old India-born Nadella, CEO, Microsoft.

Microsoft, which has tens of thousands of workers in India and many more in other countries of Indian families, joined the Global Task Force on Pandemic Response on Wednesday and reported a series of contributions to COVID-19 relief efforts in India.

“Our thoughts are with the millions who are impacted, including their relatives living abroad. Microsoft has had a presence in India for nearly three decades and our teams in the country play an important role for the company that stretches well beyond India’s borders,” said Kate Behncken, vice president and lead of Microsoft Philanthropies.

Microsoft has taken two measures to address the extreme shortage of oxygen for patients in India, according to a blog post by Behncken.

Microsoft Philanthropies has partnered with other companies to buy 1,000 much-needed ventilators for hospitals in India as part of the Global Task Force on Pandemic Response, thanks to a major financial donation from Microsoft Philanthropies.

Second, the task force is collaborating with the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum and other companies to provide 25,000 oxygen concentration devices to Indian health-care facilities, according to Behncken.

Microsoft employees have already raised over USD 3 million (including Microsoft's match) for organisations working on the ground in India, such as Oxfam India and UNICEF, in the last week.

Microsoft, according to Behncken, ensures that every commercial and government organisation in India has free access to Microsoft teams' full capabilities as they adapt to changing conditions on the ground.

“We have also activated the Microsoft Disaster Response Team to provide technology support to efforts combating the outbreak in India, who are in frequent touch with both government agencies and first responders in the country to see how we can help,” he wrote.

Observing that the entire country is reeling under the devastating impact of the pandemic, Bechcken said, “As we witness the impact on friends, co-workers and the broader community, it is clear we can and must help. We are focused on using our technology, skills, resources and voice to assist in the global response."

A newly formed global task force of CEOs from the top 40 American companies announced an initiative to provide massive COVID-19 emergency relief material to India in its battle against the coronavirus, including 1,000 ventilators and 25,000 oxygen concentrators.

According to data released by the Indian health ministry on Wednesday, a total of 3,780 new COVID-19 fatalities were reported in India in a single day, bringing the total number of deaths to 2,26,188, with 3,82,315 new coronavirus infections. With the new cases, the country's cumulative number of COVID-19 cases has risen to 2,06,65,148.

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