Vinod Khosla, longtime Silicon Valley-based Indian American technologies entrepreneur and founder of the eponymous venture capital firm Khosla Ventures, on Sunday provided funding help to hospitals in India for importing oxygen and other supplies amid the present Covid crisis. Khosla also asked public hospitals and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to attain out to him for capital. “I’m willing to fund hospitals in India that need funding to import bulk planeloads of oxygen or supplies into India to increase supply. Public hospitals/NGO’s also pls reach out,” Khosla stated on microblogging platform Twitter.
I’m prepared to fund hospitals in India that need to have funding to import bulk planeloads of oxygen or supplies into India to enhance provide. Public hospitals/NGO’s also pls attain out @PMOIndia @MoHFW_INDIA @timesofindia @INCIndia #IndiaFightsCOVID19 @htTweets @IndianExpress @GiveIndia
— Vinod Khosla (@vkhosla) April 24, 2021
Acknowledging the help, India’s biggest hospital chain Apollo Hospitals’ joint managing director Sangita Reddy in her response tweeted “Vinod, how generous and timely. We are running two medical college hospitals mostly free and have free wards in most of our hospitals. Will reach out. Speed is of the essence.” Khosla tagged Health Ministry, Prime Minister’s workplace, , donation platform Give India, and other people in his tweet.
In reply to one of the tweets requesting the US government for AstraZeneca supplies, Khosla urged US President Joe Biden to release the AstraZeneca vaccines to India. “The AZ vaccine is unlikely to be ever approved in the US given current alternatives here. @Potus should absolutely release all doses and future commitments for US supply since Moderna and @pfizer can supply US needs.”
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki at her everyday news conference on Friday had stated that the government is “working closely with Indian officials at both political and experts’ level to identify ways to help address the crisis,” PTI reported. Psaki had added, that “India is one of our Quad partners, of course, in discussing vaccine creation and distribution for the future.”
Among India Inc, Tata Group had announced help for catering to lack of oxygen supplies. The group had stated that it would import 24 cryogenic containers to transport liquid oxygen. Reliance Industries, as per a PTI report, had tweaked manufacturing at its Jamnagar oil refineries to make more than 700 tonnes a day of healthcare-grade oxygen which is becoming provided totally free of expense to Covid-hit states. Jindal Steel and Power had also committed 500 metric tonnes of oxygen provide.