DuPont India donates Rs. 20 lakh to PM's fund for tsunami relief

DuPont India donates Rs 20 lakh to PM’s fund for tsunami relief

Additional product donations to relief agencies 18Mar05

Gives US$ 1 million as initial tsunami disaster response in the region

In early January itself, DuPont India made a cash donation to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund of Rs 20 lakhs (US$ 45,000) to support relief efforts for tsunami victims in India. The DuPont India donation was handed over to Rohit Khera, officer on special duty, The Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund, by Vivek Bhargava, Director, human resources, DuPont India, at the Prime Minister’s office.

In addition to the cash contribution, DuPont India has also identified DuPont products for donation to various organizations engaged in relief work in the tsunami-affected areas. These include:

Soy-protein enhanced energy bars and milk powder from the Solae business – these provide health benefits of soy to provide additional nutrition
DuPont Tyvek nonwoven jackets and coveralls – which provide barriers and resist the passage of microorganisms
DuPont Sontara nonwoven masks – to protect relief workers, health professionals and patients from contamination and disease
DuPont Virkon human health disinfectant – for safe and rapid disinfection.

The first lot of product donation worth Rs 10 lakhs were handed over to the Confederation of Indian Industry, of which DuPont India is a member. CII is committed to using these products in the tsunami-affected areas of India.

Additional product donation of another Rs 20 lakhs was given to the Indian Red Cross a few days later for their relief efforts in India. Five metric tons of DuPont Virkon disinfectant, worth more than Rs 1 crore, was also air-lifted from the London plant of DuPont Antec later that week. The India effort is part of the regional effort in the earthquake and tsunami affected countries in the region. Overall, DuPont is has committed over US$ 1 million (Rs. 4.4 crore) in cash and products for initial disaster relief to the countries devastated by the tsunami.

Announcing the relief efforts in a letter to employees, DuPont CEO Chad Holliday said -- “Disaster relief on this scale requires not just the resources of governments and non-governmental organizations. It also depends on the generosity of companies and individuals. Our team in Asia has responded rapidly and effectively. I think we can take special pride in seeing how the products we make are helping people in such dire circumstances."