NRI billionaire Lakshmi N Mittal on Tuesday announced a contribution of Rs 100 crore to the PM CARES Fund to combat the spread of the deadly coronavirus in India.
"ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India), a joint venture between (L N Mittal's) ArcelorMittal and Japan's Nippon Steel, and HMEL, a partnership between Hindustan Petroleum and Mittal Energy Investments, today announce a package of support to strengthen India's capacity to protect families and communities impacted by the virus.
Both our operations in India commit equally to a total of Rs 100 crore to PM-CARES for the ongoing relief efforts countrywide," Mittal said in a statement.
"Citizens across India have shown extraordinary dedication, bravery and compassion in this moment of singular crisis and they deserve our support and the gratitude of the nation," the steel magnate said.
COVID-19 is having significant repercussions for people in every continent, Mittal said.
No country will be immune to it and for nations like India which have a vast population, the impact could be very serious, he added.
Collaboration in times like these is critical, the industrialist asserted.
Governments, companies and citizens must therefore work together to pool their resources, to ensure every action is taken to combat the pandemic as swiftly as possible, he said.
Mittal also said his companies are providing daily meals to over 5,000 people and food kits to more than 30,000.
Sunil Bharti Mittal-led Bharti Enterprises on Tuesday also committed Rs 100 crore to support the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement, Bharti Enterprises said that a significant portion of the corpus will be immediately contributed to the PM CARES Fund and the balance amount is being directed towards sourcing of masks, PPE (personal protective equipment) and other key equipment for the doctors, healthcare workers and essential services personnel who are at the forefront of this battle.
Over a million N-95 masks are being procured and will be made available on an immediate basis, it said.
With PTI and IANS inputs