The Mahindra Group’s chairman, Anand Mahindra on Sunday, announced that Mahindra Group would immediately begin work to explore how its automotive manufacturing plants can make ventilators. As the number of coronavirus positive cases in India crossed the 600-mark on Wednesday and the death toll climbed to 12, a scarcity of novel coronavirus diagnostic test kits and life-saving critical care equipment such as ventilators are becoming significant roadblocks in the testing and treatment processes.
Mahindra also warned that it is highly likely that India is already in Stage 3 of transmission of the novel coronavirus and said, “Cases could rise exponentially with millions of casualties, putting a huge strain on medical infrastructure.”
In addition, he agreed that the lockdown over the next few weeks would help flatten the curve and moderate the peak pressure on medical care. “However, we need to create scores of temporary hospitals, and we have a scarcity of ventilators. To help in response to this unprecedented threat, we at the Mahindra Group will immediately begin work on how our manufacturing facilities can make ventilators,” Mahindra said in a series of tweets.
The Mahindra Group also owns Mahindra Holidays – a network of holiday resorts. The group has offered to the Government the use of its resorts as temporary care facilities. Moreover, the Mahindra Foundation, which is the group’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) division, will create a fund to assist the hardest hit in the value chain, including small businesses and self-employed individuals. He added, “We will encourage associates to contribute to the Fund voluntarily. I will contribute 100% of my salary to it and will add more over the next few months.”
