IIT Madras alumni contribute 2 Million Dollars for COVID relief efforts in India

Indian Institute of Technology Madras Alumni in India and abroad have donated more than US$ 2 Million towards COVID relief efforts in India that are being coordinated by their Alma Mater. The fundraising was coordinated by the office Of Alumni and Corporate Relations (ACR), IIT Madras, in association with IIT Madras Alumni Association of North America and IITM Foundation in the U.S.

"IIT Madras has also handed over 200 Oxygen concentrators (10 litres capacity each) purchased with the aid of these donations, to the Greater Chennai Corporation.  IIT Madras is using a phased approach for deployment to ensure a high impact. The IIT-M Alumni Charitable Trust played a vital role in the logistics and in liaising with the local government to ensure timely deployment of the units," reads a press release by IIT-Madras.

Anand Rajaraman, a partner at a Silicon Valley-based Venture Capital firm Rocketship VC and an IIT Madras alumnus, said, “It is the duty of the Indian diaspora to rally and help the country get through these darkest hours. As a Chennai boy, I am grateful and proud that the IIT Madras Alumni network has mobilized to help Chennai and Tamil Nadu with medical equipment and supplies to fill critical gaps and save thousands of lives.”

IIT-Madras hands over 200 Oxygen concentrators 

Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras, handed over 200 Oxygen concentrators (10 litres capacity each), purchased with the aid of these contributions, to Gagandeep Singh Bedi IAS, Commissioner, Chennai Corporation, on 3rd June 2021 in the presence of M.A. Siddique IAS, Principal Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu, and Meghanatha Reddy IAS, Deputy Commissioner (Works), Government of Tamil Nadu, Prof. Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean (ACR), N. Alamelu, Secretary, IIT-M Alumni Charitable Trust, Kaviraj Nair, CEO (Development Office), IIT Madras, and others.

Further, Dr Jane Prasad, Registrar, IIT Madras, handed over 74 BiPAP Units to Chennai Corporation Officials recently. IIT Madras Alumni have also donated 200 Oxygen Concentrators (5 litres each) to Telangana Government.

IIT Madras alumni working as senior executives with reputed MNCs were actively involved in evaluating and finalising the options available at various stages throughout the process. IIT Madras will continue to contribute to the Covid relief measures in the months to come, as the social commitment has always been a topmost priority for the Institute, the press release added. 

Besides these efforts, IIT Madras has formed a COVID Relief Fund to support students and faculty who are in distress due to the medical exigencies caused by the pandemic. In the last financial year (FY’21), IIT Madras raised as much as Rs. 96 lakh to cater to the Covid relief requirements of students and employees of IIT Madras.

There is also a clear proposal to upgrade the medical infrastructure within the IIT-M campus to cater to any potential requirements that may arise as it re-opens the campus to receive students, as and when the lockdown conditions are lifted and the threat of the pandemic eases out.

"The Startups incubated by IIT Madras are also at the forefront of the nation’s efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic. Modulus Housing, founded by IIT Madras alumni in 2018 and incubated by IIT Madras Incubation Cell, developed a portable hospital unit that can be installed anywhere within a few hours. Called ‘MediCAB,’ it is a decentralized approach to detect, screen, identify, isolate and treat COVID-19 patients in their local communities through these portable microstructures. MediCAB has already been deployed in the field including in Wayanad, Kerala, among other places," the release added,