India: Procter & Gamble (P&G), one of the leading FMCG companies in India, has stepped up its efforts to serve the country in response to COVID-19 under its response program ‘P&G Suraksha India’. The company has announced today that it will produce face masks and hand sanitizers for its employees, and to support the government and relief organizations who are on the front lines of this pandemic in India. The production of hand sanitizers has begun in Roorkee, and the company has manufactured the first batch already. The company will soon begin manufacturing 3-ply face masks in Hyderabad.
Madhusudan Gopalan, MD & CEO, P&G Indian Subcontinent, said, “Under our program ‘P&G Suraksha India’ we are stepping up to support the government and those who are on the front line in India’s fight against COVID-19. We have started production of hand sanitizers and we will begin the production of masks soon, using it to ensure our people can continue operating safely and sharing it with those who are on the front line. To start with, we will donate 1.5 million masks to government and relief organizations to combat the spread of this pandemic. The face masks and hand sanitizers that we will make will also help us protect the health and safety of P&G people and to ensure that P&G can continue to serve Indian consumers with cleaning, health, and hygiene products during this time when they are needed the most.”
In addition to the latest announcement, under its response and relief program ‘P&G Suraksha India’, P&G has also undertaken the following initiatives to serve the communities during this challenging time:
- We are extending our support to the broader community through in-kind, product and critical supplies to aid frontline and essential workers who are tirelessly working to combat the spread of COVID-19
- We are leveraging our advertising and brand voice on traditional and social media responsibly and our in-store and direct-to-consumer capability, to increase awareness on safety and hygiene measures among consumers and our community
- We are playing a pivotal role in partnership with government to leverage best in class P&G Capabilities to raise the Health & Hygiene standards in retail stores and manufacturing units across the country
- P&G employees in India are donating to the ‘PM Cares Fund’ to support India’s fight against COVID-19
Madhusudan further added, “The P&G people remain committed to manufacture and make our critically important cleaning, health and personal hygiene available to serve the people of India during these unprecedented times. We are making these products available following the highest safety and health standards and advice from the government and medical authorities. We will continue to step up as a ‘Force for Good’ and leverage our innovation, manufacturing and marketing expertise to support our communities during this time of need.”