Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani (File Photo | Bloomberg)
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani (File Photo | Bloomberg)

Reliance Industries to use multi-pronged strategy to combat coronavirus

The country’s largest private company said it has set up India's first dedicated COVID-19 hospital with a 100-bed capacity in Mumbai.

NEW DELHI: Joining the bandwagon in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Monday said his company Reliance Industries (RIL) will raise its capacities to produce 1 lakh face-masks a day and a large number of personal protective equipment such as suits and garments for health-workers to equip them further to tackle the challenge.

Drawing strength from its presence in varied sectors, the oil-to-telecom conglomerate said it is also looking to ensure that all its subsidiaries pull out all stops to support the government in its efforts to contain the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

RIL said it will provide free fuel for all emergency service vehicles, free meals in various cities, provide double data on all plans for existing JioFiber users, ensure sufficient supply of essentials through Reliance Retail stores and continue to pay its temporary and contract workers in a bid to mitigate any overwhelming financial burden.

“RIL has deployed the combined strengths of Reliance Foundation, Reliance Retail, Jio, Reliance Life Sciences, Reliance Industries, and all the six lakh members of the Reliance Family on this action plan against COVID-19,” the company said in a statement.

The country’s largest private company said it has set up India's first dedicated COVID-19 hospital with a 100-bed capacity in Mumbai. Funded by Reliance Foundation, the facility will include beds that are equipped with the required infrastructure, bio-medical equipment such as ventilators, pacemakers, dialysis machine and patient monitoring devices. Separately, it will provide free meals to people across cities in partnership with NGOs to offer necessary livelihood relief to allay the current crisis.

All 736 grocery stores of Reliance Retail across the country will ensure uninterrupted supply of essentials, including staples, fruits and vegetables, bread, breakfast cereals and other items of daily use. These stores will remain open longer - from 7 am to 11 pm - wherever possible. To ensure connectivity, Jio will provide double-data across its 4G data add-on vouchers. JioFiber broadband connectivity (10 Mbps), wherever it is geographically feasible, will also be provided without any service charges amid the crisis period.

For its own employees, RIL will continue to pay contract and temporary workers, even if work has halted due to this crisis. “For those earning below Rs 30,000 per month, salaries will be paid twice a month to protect their cash flow and mitigate any overwhelming financial burden,” the company said.

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