BENTONVILLE, Ark. and BENGALURU, India, April 30, 2021 — Walmart is mobilizing its global resources to further expand support for COVID-19 relief efforts in India. Walmart, the Walmart Foundation, Flipkart and PhonePe, along with Walmart’s Global Technology and Sourcing hubs, are collaborating to counter oxygen shortages, support the national vaccination drive and donate to organizations making a difference in communities nationwide.
“Walmart is a global family. We feel the impact of this devastating surge on our associates, families and friends across India, and it’s important that we come together to support however we can,” said Doug McMillon, President and CEO of Walmart Inc. “We feel called to bring our resources to bear in times of crisis, and this moment is no different. We are working hard to combine Walmart’s global capabilities and Flipkart’s distribution network to ensure vital oxygen and supplies are made available to those who need them most. Our hearts are with everyone in India.”
To help India meet its urgent need for medical-grade oxygen, Walmart businesses worldwide are working together to procure vital oxygen concentrators and other equipment. Walmart will donate up to 20 oxygen-generating plants and 20 cryogenic containers for oxygen storage and transportation, as well as more than 3,000 oxygen concentrators and 500 oxygen cylinders for delivering oxygen therapy to patients at home or in hospital. These are being sourced globally and will be donated to hospitals and NGOs in India for distribution. Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have also committed to fund an additional 2,500 oxygen concentrators as part of the U.S.-India Business Council and U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum’s joint relief effort.
Extending these efforts, the Walmart Foundation is donating INR 148.2 million (USD $2 million) to support various NGOs in India. A total of about INR 74.1 million (USD $1 million) will be allocated through the Walmart Foundation Disaster Relief Fund, a donor advised fund, to recommend support for Doctors for You to operate isolation centers and temporary hospitals, as well as provide personal protective equipment for frontline medical workers. The other INR 74.1 million (USD $1 million) will be allocated to GIVE Foundation Inc. to support GiveIndia’s COVID response fund, which will support physical infrastructure and equipment for the medical sector in India, prioritizing the most impacted and vulnerable communities.
Walmart, Flipkart and PhonePe continue to step up efforts to encourage COVID-19 vaccination, including setting up on-site vaccination clinics, at no cost, for associates and their households, as well as Flipkart and PhonePe’s full-time contractors and delivery workers – more than 200,000 people. Associates will continue to receive expanded sick leave if they become ill or must self-isolate, time off to get the vaccine or tested and expanded compassionate care leave to care for ill family members.
Flipkart is also partnering with GiveIndia to raise funds to provide critical medical supplies such as oxygen, PPE kits, hand sanitizers and other essentials at COVID-19 centers, charitable hospitals and for healthcare workers in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. In addition, Flipkart customers can now use their SuperCoins (loyalty points) to donate directly toward ambulance services and oxygen cylinder refills that GiveIndia will mobilize to help those in critical need.
Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO of Flipkart, said: “Through the pandemic, we have endeavored to meet the needs of our customers while supporting our business partners through a safe supply chain and reliable platform. We and our colleagues at PhonePe are committed to doing our bit to help people in this challenging time, leveraging our logistics capabilities and mobilizing resources towards the most critical needs of patients and health care professionals. As people and corporations come together to gather resources to fight the pandemic, we remain steadfast in our belief that we will get through this together.”
Previously, Walmart, Flipkart Group and the Walmart Foundation have provided INR 460 million ($6.2 million) in financial and in-kind support in India, including over 1 million PPE and CPE gowns, 600,000 N95 masks and 88 ventilators, among other contributions.
Walmart Canada will also support relief efforts through the Canadian Red Cross India COVID-19 Response Appeal, funding ambulance and transport services for patients, quarantine isolation centers and other services.
About Walmart
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better - anytime and anywhere - in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, approximately 220 million customers and members visit approximately 10,500 stores and clubs under 48 banners in 24 countries and eCommerce websites. With fiscal year 2021 revenue of $559 billion, Walmart employs more than 2.3 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at twitter.com/walmart.
About Flipkart Group
The Flipkart Group is one of India's leading digital commerce entities and includes group companies Flipkart, Myntra, and Flipkart Wholesale. Started in 2007, Flipkart has enabled millions of consumers, sellers, merchants, and small businesses to be a part of India's e-commerce revolution, with a registered customer base of over 300 million, offering over 150 million products across 80+ categories. Our efforts to democratize e-commerce in India, drive access and affordability, delight customers, create lakhs of jobs in the ecosystem and empower generations of entrepreneurs and MSMEs have inspired us to innovate on many industry firsts. The recent launch of Flipkart Wholesale, our new digital marketplace, is a testament to our commitment to accelerate the growth of kiranas and MSMEs in India. Flipkart is known for pioneering services such as Cash on Delivery, No Cost EMI and easy returns – customer-centric innovations that have made online shopping more accessible and affordable for millions of Indians. Together with Myntra, which holds a prominent position in the online fashion market, and now Flipkart Wholesale, the Flipkart Group will continue to steer the transformation of commerce in India through technology.
About PhonePe
PhonePe is India’s largest digital payments platform with over 273 million registered users. Using PhonePe, users can send and receive money, recharge mobile, DTH, data cards, pay at stores, make utility payments, buy gold and make investments. PhonePe forayed into financial services in 2017 with the launch of Gold providing users with a safe and convenient option to buy 24-karat gold securely on its platform. PhonePe has since launched several Mutual Funds and Insurance products like tax-saving funds, liquid funds, international travel insurance and Corona Care, a dedicated insurance product for the COVID-19 pandemic among others. PhonePe also launched its Switch platform in 2018, and today its customers can place orders on over 300 apps including Ola, Swiggy, Myntra, IRCTC, Goibibo, RedBus, etc. directly from within the PhonePe mobile app. PhonePe is accepted at over 16 million merchant outlets across 500 cities nationally.
About Philanthropy at Walmart
Walmart.org represents the philanthropic efforts of Walmart and the Walmart Foundation. By focusing where the business has unique strengths, Walmart.org works to tackle key social and environmental issues and collaborate with others to spark long-lasting systemic change.
