British Indians have supported efforts to raise £3 million for India in two weeks, says Manoj Badale

The British Asian Trust, which was founded by Charles, the Prince of Wales, in 2007, has launched an emergency appeal in the UK, with support from the Indian diaspora, to help save lives in India in the midst of the terrible Covid19 pandemic. Manoj Badale, co-founder of UK-based digital venture capital firm Blenheim Chalcot and the lead owner of Indian Premier League cricket team Rajasthan Royals, is also chairman of the Trust. He spoke to Ishani Duttagupta about the huge efforts by British Indians to create a platform for those suffering and in need of help in India. Excerpts from the interview.
How are British Indian community organisations and the diaspora contributing towards supporting India during this crisis?
In just the last two weeks, over £3m has been donated to our Oxygen for India Emergency Appeal, enabling us to fund 4,835 oxygen concentrators, giving doctors in India hope and renewed strength to continue the fight against Covid-19. We continue to raise funds and are deeply grateful to the British Indian diaspora and the wider British people for backing our appeal and helping us get oxygen concentrators, medical support and other aid to people in need. The diaspora is also supporting in kind via our doctor networks providing medical help, signposting to resources and helping us help others. The huge support from our diaspora has allowed us to move fast, but more needs to be done. We are now going to start supporting grassroots organisations including Goonj, Naandi Foundation, UN Women and others. The aim will be to reach those most in need including tribal communities, pregnant women, children and other marginalised groups.
In the longer term, we are also considering ways to provide mental health support to children who have faced bereavement/abandonment and other challenges through lockdowns and this wave of Covid-19.
You are at the helm of The British Asian Trust (BAT), please share some details about the fundraising for India by the trust and also how is the relief material being deployed?
As news of a devastating second wave of Covid-19 started coming in from India, the sheer scale of the crisis with huge stresses and strains on the public health system became apparent, and we decided that we need to take action. This time, the crisis was more severe, with terrible heart-breaking images coming out of India every day. We rapidly consulted with stakeholders from the Indian and UK governments, our advisors, funding partners and programme partners. Based on their guidance and our own due diligence, we agreed that the biggest difference we could make immediately was to get as many oxygen concentrators to hospitals as quickly as possible. These concentrators save thousands of lives because they produce their own oxygen supply, unlike oxygen cylinders which need constant refilling.
We decided to partner on the procurement and delivery of concentrators with Swasth Digital Health Foundation, a not—for-profit collaborative founded by experts in the public health field. Swasth identified the overall need in India for oxygen concentrators at around 200,000. It set itself a target to raise funds for procuring 50,000 of this 200,000 to begin with. BAT launched our appeal for raising money to support this target via support of the British India diaspora, corporates and the wider public.
Are you sourcing oxygen concentrators in the UK to send to India?
We are not sending supplies from the UK, we are working on procuring and importing supplies from overseas manufacturers with our partner Swasth in India procuring orders in bulk. Amazon has facilitated the shipment of the first lot of concentrators and there will be other logistics companies who will be engaged for facilitating the shipment of the future lots from overseas.
Are you focusing on any specific states or areas in India?
Swasth has already delivered 3,500 concentrators across the worst-hit regions in India across 13 states. Delhi’s hospitals have been the hardest hit, so 30% have been allocated to the nation’s capital. Rural clinics and hard to reach communities in Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and other states are also receiving these life-saving devices, which can be the difference between life and death when a hospital is hours away. We are leveraging our combined expertise in the public health, logistics, and technology sectors – managing a complex set of negotiations with manufacturers to arrive at the best possible rates, and working with the top private sector logistics and delivery solutions companies including Amazon to ensure transparent, on-time last-mile delivery, no matter how hard to reach.
However, we do realise that oxygen alone will not solve this current crisis. There are other pressing needs that need to be addressed, including the shortage of available medical care/diagnosis facilities and equipment, and increasing lack of food among the most vulnerable communities including rural and tribal communities. These communities face the double challenge of not being able to access the current facilities equally but also lack of information or awareness to know what to do once you test positive.
How much funds have you mobilised?
At the moment we have been able to support £3m towards 4,835 oxygen concentrators. As more funding is raised, we will continue to deploy it quickly towards emerging needs such as medical supplies and other last mile support to rural communities.
Do you see a lot of involvement of the British Indian community in supporting India in this time of crisis?
We are grateful to the British Indian and British community for having come forward to provide huge support to BAT for helping cope with the situation in India. We have received all kinds of support in cash, kind, talent (via the doctors), in mobilising the government in the UK to engage, and also working in partnership with the UK government. We have also been supported by organisations such as Accenture, Arian Financial, BlackRock, Beam Suntory, BT, British Indian Jewish Association, British International Doctors Association, Clifford Chance, Dentsu Aegis, Fidelity Investments, Here & Now, Lad Bible, Linklaters, Monsoon & Accessorize, Morgan Stanley, Moto, News UK, Proskauer, Sabio, Sunrise Radio, Southall Travel, Specsavers, and We Do Doors among others.
The Rajasthan Royals IPL team also contributed towards supporting India; was that also through the BAT?
I am proud that everyone at our franchise including the players, team management and staff decided to come forward and make a combined contribution of Rs 7.5 crore (over £700,000) towards the British Asian Trust and the philanthropic arm of the Rajasthan Royals known as the Royal Rajasthan Foundation, who already have numerous operational initiatives on-ground in Rajasthan and India. We have been working together with RRF as well to exchange expertise and make sure our efforts are focused on helping people in need across the country.
Finally, do you see any possibility of IPL moving to the UK?
Obviously there is a huge speculation on the IPL taking place in the UK, but at the end of the day, there are some major factors which need to be considered before everyone can come to taking a decision of where and when the remainder of the tournament can happen. We are hopeful that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will be able to find a window and the best possible venue to be able to complete the season and we will ensure we support them.