Paytm pledges $66 mn for PM CARES Fund

Digital payments platform Paytm, owned by One97 Communications, has pledged to donate up to Rs 500 crore or $66.4 million to the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund, over and above donations made through its platform, it said in a statement on Sunday.

“For every contribution or any other payment made on Paytm using the wallet, UPI and Paytm Bank debit card, the company will contribute an extra upto Rs 10,” the statement said.

PM CARES, the dedicated national fund was created by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday for the purpose of dealing with any emergency or distress situation in India, such as the one posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

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“We are honoured to do our duty to aid the government in all the relief measures being taken to fight the Corona pandemic. We hope our users wholeheartedly donate to PM CARES fund and help save lives… Paytm commits to doing everything in its power to support the efforts of our government in coming out of this crisis,” Madhur Deora, president of the Noida based company said.

Read: Coronavirus India LIVE Updates

Last week, the company committed Rs 5 crore (about $663,346) to help innovators, research teams and firms working on solutions to curb the shortage of clinical ventilators and other medical solutions.

The fintech company has also revamped its app user interface with a 'stay at home essential payments' section featuring streamlined payments such as mobile and direct-to-home (DTH) recharge, electricity, water, gas, credit card, insurance premium payments, it said in a separate statement on Monday.

Also read: Flipkart subsidiary PhonePe pledges $13 mn for PM CARES fund

PM Modi recently announced a nationwide lockdown for 21 days in an effort to reduce the spread of the pandemic in the country. Covid-19 or Corona Virus Disease-2019 has infected 1,071 individuals in India and has claimed 29 lives, as of Monday noon. The infected include 942 active cases, 99 cured or discharged cases.

Experts suggest that the figures are only set to rise in the coming months.