HDFC Bank commits Rs 100 crore towards COVID relief in FY22

The country's largest private sector lender HDFC Bank on Friday committed Rs 100 crore for setting up medical infrastructure for COVID-19 relief in 2021-22.

The city-headquartered bank is planning to set up 20 oxygen plants in hospitals besides three 100-bed COVID care facilities as part of the plan.

In a statement, the bank said the Rs 100 crore commitment for the ongoing fiscal year is an initial amount, and comes on top of a Rs 120 crore contribution done in 2020-21 as part of its initiative christened 'Parivartan'.

Underlining the need for the community and organisations to come together in the current crisis, its group head for corporate social responsibility, Ashima Bhat said the bank's efforts are a small token of its commitment towards the society.

'Parivartan' focuses on creating long-term sustainable infrastructure and the bank will be working with NGO partners and local infrastructure to render the help being announced, she added.

The bank's plan entails setting up 20 oxygen plants across hospitals in the country, two isolation centres, and providing medical equipment and supplies to more than 200 hospitals in the country, the statement said.

The bank plans to offer scholarships under the education crisis scholarship scheme to students affected by the pandemic and also provide a monthly ration to 1.

5 lakh individuals in villages.

Bhat said going forward, the bank would like to focus on the areas of education and livelihood, especially for families affected by COVID-19.

According to experts, the second wave of infections has peaked or nearing its peak in the country.

As per the latest government data on Friday, total 1,86,364 new coronavirus infections were reported in a day, the lowest in around 44 days, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,75,55,457. The death toll climbed to 3,18,895 with 3,660 daily deaths.

The daily COVID-19 count in India last fell below the 2-lakh mark on May 25. Unlike the first wave, rural areas have been severely impacted by the ongoing wave of the pandemic.