MUMBAI: Consumer durable firm LG Electronics India has pledged $5.5 million for Covid-relief efforts and set up medical infrastructure to aid the battle against the novel Coronavirus in India. The company said as part of this initiative, it will set up 10 makeshift hospitals across India in association with local government bodies and NGOs.

It will also fund more beds to treat Covid-19 patients at India’s biggest medical facility, AIIMS.

"All these makeshift hospitals will be made across Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Pune, Bhopal, Udaipur, Lucknow and other cities in association with various government hospitals. LG Electronics will be working with implementation partners including people to People foundation across various states," it added.

In a statement, LG Electronics India MD Young Lak Kim said, “We stand committed to lending our full support to the government and citizens in the fight against Covid-19. With the onset of the pandemic last year, we provided support by sharing our resources with the healthcare community. Our focus has always been on the well-being of the people and we believe through makeshift hospitals we can contribute to saving lives by creating medical infrastructure. We will be working with various authorities and partners to create required medical infrastructure with a budget of $ 5.5 million.“

In April 2020, LG had partnered with Akshaya Patra Foundation to serve one million meals across India and donated products like water purifiers, air-conditioners, refrigerators and TVs to over 300 hospitals allotted for quarantine/ isolation wards in states and districts.

 LG's decision to support India in its fight against Covid-19 comes days after other tech giants pledged similar support. Earlier this week, Twitter announced $15 million funding to help address the Covid-19 crisis in the country.