More and more corporate houses are joining hands to fight the coronavirus pandemic by committing funds, producing ventilators and even giving free broadband connectivity.

The Tatas on Saturday pledged Rs 1,500 crore to combat the pandemic. Tata Sons announced an additional Rs 1,000 crore support over and above Rs 500 crore pledged by Tata Trusts earlier in the day. In a statement, Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran said the group is also bringing in ventilators and are gearing up to manufacture the same soon in India.

“The current situation in India and other parts of the world is very worrisome and requires our very best action,” he said in a statement.

Maruti tie-up

Maruti Suzuki India on Saturday said it has reached an arrangement with AgVa Healthcare, an approved manufacturer of ventilators, to rapidly scale up the production of ventilators. The aim is to reach a volume of 10,000 units per month.

Further, Krishna Maruti, a joint venture of Maruti and Ashok Kapur, will be manufacturing three-ply masks. Similarly, Bharat Seats, a joint venture between Maruti Suzuki and the Relan family, would be manufacturing protective clothing as soon as approvals are in place.

Hyundai move

Hyundai Motor India Foundation, the CSR arm of Hyundai Motor India, said it was ordering advanced testing kits for coronavirus infection from South Korea. These advanced kits have a very high level of accuracy and can help serve over 25,000 people, it said in a statement.

Hyundai has also announced that 24X7 roadside assistance will be available for customers in case of any emergency.

Jio offer

With people working from home because of the nationwide lockdown, Reliance Jio has said it will provide Basic JioFiber broadband connectivity, wherever it is geographically feasible, without any service charges, for a period of 30 days. The company will offer 100GB high-speed internet at a speed of 10Mpbs. After the 100GB is used up, the consumer can continue to use unlimited internet, but the speed will be 1 Mbps, which it said is enough to run even videos on a device.

State units

PSUs have also stepped up measures to check the spread of coronavirus. State-owned NTPC Ltd is converting its hospitals into dedicated Covid-19 units. Hydro power entity NHPC has pledged Rs 4.5 crore to fight Covid-19.