India Inc in Singapore makes financial donation to COVID-19 infected migrant workers

By Gurdip Singh

Singapore, Jun 22 () India Inc in Singapore on Monday donated 159,000 Singapore dollars to support the migrant workers, largely from India and South Asia, who have been majorly impacted due to the coronavirus pandemic and are facing financial difficulties here.

The donation of 159,000 Singapore dollars (INR 86. 60 lakh) was raised by Confederation of Indian Industry-India Business Forum (CII-IBF), Singapore, which represents the large corporates of India in Singapore.

Singapore has so far reported 42,313 cases of coronavirus, with many Indian workers staying in dormitories. The nation has so far witnessed 26 deaths due to the contagious viral disease.

CII-IBF is working with the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA), which is facilitating and promoting donations for the workers' cause. This contribution forms part of a larger corpus that SINDA is facilitating, said CII-IBF in a release.

The donation is to Migrant Workers' Assistance Fund (MWAF) which is channelised through the Migrant Workers' Centre, an NGO supported by the Singapore government.

A survey of CII-IBF in April revealed that Indian Companies here remain resolute and confident in Singapore.

"They expressed appreciation of the proactive steps that Singapore Government has taken on the economic side to save lives and livelihoods, and they have shown solidarity with the government and people of Singapore," said the release.

Thanking corporate constituents for coming together to help in time of need, Indranee Rajah, Singapore's Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, stressed on the need for strengthening Singapore's social compact and safety nets.

She also invited members of CII-IBF to take part in the SG Together initiatives, especially SG Jobs United given their focus and expertise across the sectors.

IBF members can also come on board as "Digital Ambassadors" to help boost the digitization efforts of the government by creating more jobs conducting traineeships etc," said Rajah.

Commenting on the donation, Jawed Ashraf, the High Commissioner of India to Singapore, said: "This is a gesture of gratitude to Singapore for the support that the Government and people of Singapore have given to businesses in Singapore and the exemplary manner in which they have looked after the welfare of migrant workers during the pandemic."

"It is indeed heartening - Indian corporates contributed whole heartedly, to the Singapore community, in which we live and work, during this crisis, while the parent organisations are still faced with significant challenges back home," added K V Rao Chairman of CII IBF & Resident Director (ASEAN), Tata Sons Pte Ltd. GS RUP RUP RUP