Elets Exclusive with Dr Megha Bhargava: COVID Crisis & Changing Scenarios
As the country is going through a dire crisis due to the Coronavirus outbreak, NGOs and many philanthropists have come forward to help government authorities and aid people in these times. Throwing light on the situation, contribution by NGOs, and changing economy, Dr Megha Bhargava, IRS, Deputy Commissioner, Income tax, Mumbai, Ministry of Finance, Government of India interacted in an exclusive interview with Nisha Samant and Adarsh Som of Elets News Network (ENN).
- Recently, crowdfunding platforms have come in light, especially in the crisis. How effective are such models? Can these be a new shift in Indian philanthropy?
Crowdfunding in India is at its nascent stage at present. The popularity of the crowdfunding platforms is a positive phenomenon and an indicator of the changing landscape of philanthropy in India. It is in tune with the increasing internet penetration and the ease of making online payments. With the increasing popularity of social media platforms, it becomes very easy to share a story and raise funds for a cause. It is also a transparent way of generating funds with the donor details being published on the fundraiser. There is also a transparent utilization of funds with the donors being updated regularly about the cause for which they have donated. In line with the developing technologies, the crowdfunding platforms are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning to create fundraising stories after gathering the basic data. AI is also being used to detect any fraudulent transactions. It sensitizes and motivates the growing Indian middle class and gives them an opportunity to engage in social change and cultivate the virtue of ‘giving’. At Samarpan, we did our COVID relief campaigns on three crowdfunding platforms viz. Ketto, Milaap and Efforts for Good and we were able to connect with around 1350 supporters.
2. Efforts by your NGO, Samarpan is worth lauding. How has Samarpan managed to feed masses and distribute masks, sanitisers, essential groceries and more?
COVID-19 has been the most challenging for the daily wage earners and the migrant labourers. It has not only deprived them of their basic survival but also posed a severe challenge to the long term impacts on health and education of their families. Before the declaration of the lockdown, Team Samarpan sprang into action and started distributing hand sanitizers and face masks to prevent the spread of infection. Soon after the lockdown, different teams were organized to address several areas of the relief initiative such as Food kit and Sanitary kit Procurement from vendors, Distribution in coordination with local authorities after proper identification of beneficiaries, Publicity and Social Media Management, Finance & Accounts, Technical Assistance etc.
With the support of IRS officers across India, ‘Samarpan’ in collaboration with the Municipal Authorities and Local Police has reached out to such daily wage earners with dry ration kits, sanitary kits and cooked meals in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Jodhpur, Anand, Latur, Ujjain. We also collaborated with several other organizations on the ground to help us in the distribution activities.
Till date, Samarpan has distributed around 28,700 dry ration kits, 5,60,000 cooked meals and 35,700 milk packets. Apart from this, around 1,57,000 face masks, 48,000 hand sanitizer and 57,000 soaps have been provided to the daily wagers, essential service providers like Police, Local administration staff, security guards, sanitation workers etc. Samarpan has also started the distribution of 22000 sanitary pads to the underprivileged women in Mumbai for whom the lockdown has proved to be a major hurdle inaccessibility to safe menstrual hygiene. We have given sanitation kits to around 16000 migrant workers in 10 Shramik Trains leaving from Mumbai ensuring them a safe journey back home.
To read More: https://egov.eletsonline.com/2020/06/elets-exclusive-with-dr-megha-bhargava-covid-crisis-changing-scenarios/
