Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma pledges Rs 5 crore to battle Covid-19

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Mar 25, 2020

Digital payments and e-commerce business Paytm and its founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma has pledged Rs 5 crore ($677,000) to fight coronavirus, donating the funds to teams working on related medical solutions.

 
As a response to a message on Twitter from a professor at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru about his team’s efforts to find medical solutions to Covid-19, Sharma decided to pledge money to the cause, Vogue India reported. The professor’s team are working on a prototype ventilator, which would be used to treat those with the respiratory illness. 
 
Paytm has also published a range of infographics on its Facebook page and other social media pages to educate people on aspects of the current situation and promote adherence to regulations.

“It is the need of the hour, and the coming days, to strictly adhere to 'social distancing',” announced Paytm on Facebook. 
 
Although a number of e-commerce platforms such as Flipkart have shut down operations entirely due to the lockdown, Paytm Mall’s online storefront is still functioning as usual, at the time of reporting on Wednesday afternoon.

The platform still lists fashion and beauty items as for sale, many with large price reductions, although the new lockdown measures state that only essential goods should be delivered at present.