Tech Mahindra, a digital transformation giant, is leading the way in curbing the current medical oxygen crisis in the country by partnering with different organisations, the most recent of them being #OxygenForIndia, a part of The Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP). Through this, they aim to deliver 3,000 oxygen concentrators and 40,000 cylinders to critical patients kept in home isolation, thereby limiting their need for hospitalisation.

#OxygenForIndia is a campaign to deliver oxygen cylinders to those in need especially those who may have difficulty in being admitted to a hospital due to financial constraints. As part of the partnership, Tech Mahindra will provide its leading technological and functional expertise to digitally support the campaign by enabling their supply chain applications and streamlining operations with RFD ID (Radio-frequency identification) tracking. Additionally, the partnership will also utilise the operational capabilities of Mahindra Logistics and leverage the Mahindra ecosystem of suppliers, customers, partners and associates for funding to aid the campaign.

Elaborating on Tech Mahindra’s part in this, Amit Dhingra, Head - Strategic Initiatives, said, “As a company with a purpose, we are committed to leveraging all our available resources and capabilities to fight this battle against COVID-19. By associating with OxygenForIndia, we will ensure oxygen availability to patients at home without the need for admission, thereby freeing hospital beds for those in critical condition. The collaboration will also add additional oxygen capacity to hospitals for patients in need.”

The #OxygenForIndia movement has an initial target of raising $10 million, Tech Mahindra being one of the major contributors, to facilitate more oxygen production across 15 cities, especially tier-two towns, easing the immense burden on the hospitals due to oxygen shortage and other resource crunch.

Dr Ramanan Laxminarayan, Founder and Director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy, said, “OxygenForIndia is delighted to partner with Tech Mahindra. Their strengths in multiple domains of procurement, supply chain, fundraising and financial management will augment our capacity to respond to this terrible tragedy.”

Earlier this month, the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) wing of Tech Mahindra, Tech Mahindra Foundation, also announced their support for the Democracy People Foundation to enable higher production and availability of oxygen across India through their Mission Oxygen initiative. Under this, 50 new oxygen plants will be set up to curb the oxygen crisis and allow better support for hospitals, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities, especially in tier-two cities.

Talking further about the partnership, Jagdish Mitra, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Growth, Tech Mahindra, added, “We at Tech Mahindra are determined to support people and the society at large in these difficult times. We are aware of the likelihood of the virus coming back in another wave. Therefore, we feel the need to support our country to prepare better by strengthening the healthcare system, especially in areas where the cases are to peak in the next three-five weeks based on analytics and data modelling. To this effect, we are extending our support to Mission Oxygen, a group of extremely agile entrepreneurs who have done a splendid job in providing oxygen concentrators. We are confident that together we can contribute towards enabling the supply chain digitally and provide immediate access of oxygen concentrators to hospitals, and also set up permanent oxygen facilities for the long run.”

Rahul Aggarwal, Founding Member, Mission Oxygen, and Trustee, Democracy People Foundation, said: “We are determined to ensure that very soon we reach a stage where not a single life is lost due to the unavailability of oxygen. We want to ensure that this fundamental need to survive this wave and overcome the future waves is made available to our fellow Indians. We are working tirelessly to ensure that we provide locally relevant solutions at the fastest pace possible and are thankful to the lakhs of people who have contributed and placed trust in us, and helped save thousands of lives. We look forward to combining our forces with Tech Mahindra and getting support from their larger global resources to ensure that we will achieve our objectives sooner.”

With the imminence of a third wave of the pandemic, this initiative aims to perpetuate a system of self-sufficiency in hospitals in its second phase by providing PSA (Pressure Swing Adsorption) plants, a few of which would be producing up to 55 cylinders a day (cylindrical capacity of15 Nm3/hour), thereby ensuring unhindered oxygen supply for 27-30 patients.

Mission Oxygen has more than 250 patrons (entrepreneurs), having previously raised INR 36 crore, donated 1,000 concentrators, and successfully completed an oxygen plant at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, Delhi, within a record seven days. It aims to donate another 5,000 concentrators by May 20.

Tech Mahindra, known for creating innovative customer-centric digital experiences, is committed to providing technical support to both Mission Oxygen and #OxygenForIndia, ensuring smoother supply chain operations, streamlining functions with their advanced systems like RFD ID (Radio frequency identification), cutting delays, enabling faster goal achievements and helping spread awareness through their worldwide network of stakeholders.