UKIBC Strategic Partner Diageo India pledges support to fight coronavirus
By UK India Business Council (UKIBC)
UK businesses in India are going above and beyond to support the GOI and citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Standing united, Diageo India, the country’s largest beverage alcohol company, has announced that it will produce 300,000 litres of bulk hand sanitiser across 15 manufacturing units for use by public healthcare workers to help overcome the shortage of product across India. Additionally, Diageo India will:
- Donate 500,000 litres Extra Neutral Alcohol (ENA) to the sanitiser industry to enable the production of more than two million units (250 ml each) of hand sanitisers
- Support the Hospitality sector with a Rs. 30 million healthcare insurance to bartenders associated with the Diageo World Class programme in India
- Donate approximately 150,000 masks to 5 state’s Public Health departments to be used by health care professionals and caregivers who are selflessly extending their service to Covid-19 affected patients
The company will also support continued learning and skill building for the bartenders during this lean period, through complimentary access to virtual training and online learning through providing access to the Diageo Bar Academy Training Course.
“We stand united with the Government and Citizens of our country in the fight against the Corona virus. The demand for sanitisers is increasing by the hour, and we would like to use our manufacturing units to join in the effort to fill the demand-supply gap for sanitisers, so critical at this hour. Healthcare providers are at the forefront of this fight, and donating masks is a token of our appreciation for their selfless dedication to fighting the epidemic. We also want to support our partners in the hospitality industry, especially bartenders who are facing unprecedent challenges due to closure of restaurants and bars”.
– Anand Kripalu, Managing Director and CEO, Diageo India
This move also comes in time with the central government’s appeal to distilleries in the country to make hand sanitisers as an effort to compensate short supply during this pandemic.
UKIBC applaud the efforts of our strategic partner Diageo and will continue to work with our members to support them and their meaningful efforts to overcome coronavirus.
