Google raises Rs 33cr in internal donations for NGOs in India helping with COVID fight

Google on Monday said that it has raised over $4.6 million (Rs 33 crore) so far through an internal donation campaign meant to raise funds for nonprofit organisations in India striving to help the needy during the second COVID-19 pandemic.

The nonprofits that are part of the campaign include GiveIndia, Charities Aid Foundation India, GOONJ, and United Way of Mumbai.

Apart from this, the tech giant is also helping people search for medical oxygen and the availability of hospital beds. Another feature that Google is trying to test is the use of a Q&A function in Maps which will enable people to ask and share hyperlocal information on the availability of beds and medical oxygen in select locations.

In a statement released by Google India, it explained that the user-generated content will have to be verified by authorised sources and that real-time updates and accuracy will have to be verified for its 'freshness of information'.

'In addition to showing 2,500 testing centres on Search and Maps, we're now sharing the locations of over 23,000 vaccination centres nationwide, in English and eight  Indian languages,' it added.

'The purpose is to provide authoritative answers to queries, we're using our channels to help extend the reach of health information campaigns,' Google observed in its statement.

Google goes above and beyond

After pledging Rs 135 crores to help with urgent medical supplies for India last month, which included medical oxygen and testing equipment, the company has now gone on to include two grants from Google.org, its philanthropic arm totalling Rs 20 crore along with its internal donation.

Google's online video platform YouTube has been showing informative video sets about vaccines and the best ways to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. 

COVID Cases In India 

After recording over four lakh fresh cases for four consecutive days, India witnessed a single-day rise of 3,66,161 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, which pushed its tally to 2,26,62,575, according to the Health Ministry.

The death toll due to the viral disease climbed to 2,46,116 with 3,754 more people succumbing to it, the ministry's data updated at 8 am showed. The number of active cases of the coronavirus infection in the country has gone up to 37,45,237, accounting for 16.53 per cent of its total caseload, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 82.39 per cent.