What is The Use Of Wealth When You Can’t Serve The Nation? Reliance Foundation Feeds 2 Crore People
Reliance Foundation, which is associated with Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and works for social welfare, has so far distributed more than 2 crore meals in 68 districts of 16 states and one Union Territory. A target has been set to provide food to more than 3 crore poor amidst lockdown. Reliance Foundation chairperson Nita Ambani has said that the Foundation’s mission is “Mission Annah Seva”. It will be the largest free meal program run by any corporate in the world. In the fight against COVID-19, Reliance has contributed Rs 535 crore to various relief funds, including Rs 500 crore in PM-CARES fund.
Nita Ambani, founder and chairperson of Reliance Foundation stated that, “COVID-19 is a terrible epidemic for the world, India and humanity. For those who earn daily, they eat daily, heart is filled with sorrow for such daily labourers. They are also members of our family”. Hence, the Reliance Foundation has started the mission food service. Through Mission Grain Seva, more than 3 crore meals will be provided to marginalized people across the country and frontline workers fighting Corona. This will be the largest meal distribution program ever undertaken by a corporate foundation anywhere in the world.
What does the relief package include?
Under the program, Reliance Foundation is providing cooked food, ready-to-eat food packets and dry ration-kits to families. The beneficiaries of the program include daily wage earners, slum dwellers, urban service providers, factory workers and residents of old age homes and orphanages. Food is also being served to frontline workers such as junior medical staff, police personnel and security forces. Reliance Foundation is also distributing food-tokens in some places, which can be redeemed at Reliance retail outlets such as Reliance Fresh, Reliance Smart Superstore, Reliance Smart Point and Cooperative stores.
‘Mission Grain Service’ – reliance employees become ‘corona warriors’
The responsibility of packaging and supplying these relief items is on the shoulders of the Reliance Retail employees. Employees of Reliance sites like Mumbai, Silvassa, Vadodara, Patalganga, Hazira, Jhajjar, Shahdol, Jamnagar, Dahej, Barabanki, Nagothane, Gadimoga and Hoshiarpur are distributing free food to poor communities at their respective locations. Staff members at some Reliance petrol pumps in West Bengal, Kerala and Odisha are distributing free food to truck drivers transporting essential commodities.
Reliance Foundation is supplying relief kits and bulk rations to more than 70 partners, who are engaged in similar food delivery programs in their respective locations. In addition to the food delivery program, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Reliance Foundation are continuing their multi-dimensional, on-the-ground effort to help the country win the battle against corona virus.
Number of corona virus patients reached 17,265 in the country, 543 deaths so far
Coronavirus continues to wreak havoc in each country. All sectors, economies are on a standstill. In India as well, cases are increasing rapidly. The pace of the increase indicates the need of lockdown 3.0 as on an average 1000 cases are being reported daily.
The number of coronavirus cases has crossed 24lakh worldwide with 6 lakh above recoveries and 1 lakh above deaths. In India the total number of cases have reached 17,265 with 543 deaths. The number of people recovered has reached 2,547. According to the data released by the health ministry, 1324 people have tested positive in the last 24 hours.
