Due to miscalculation of a zero, Mankind Pharma ended up donating Rs 250 crore instead of the initially planned Rs 21 crore towards Covid-19 relief efforts for frontline workers, MD Rajeev Juneja said during a recent interview.
In conversation with YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia on The Ranveer Show, Juneja said the huge sum was the result of a miscalculation, after a family debate on donating money for Covid-19 relief.
“We had a debate at home. We felt that we have a lot, and we should definitely give. We thought of donating Rs 21 crore. But my son said, you have such a big business, you should donate more. At the same, it was reported that Akshay Kumar donated Rs 50 crore. My son came to me and pressed upon the topic again. And we immediately went ahead with it,” Juneja, told Allahbadia on his podcast called “The Ranveer Show”.
Juneja, 58, said that making contributions known to the public, instead of keeping it discreet, can inspire others to give.
“There is a popular saying that when you are giving from one hand, the other should not know. I think the other hand should know, it inspires other people”.
The pharma giant donated towards the Prime Minister’s relief fund, and also to various other funds as well as oxygen cylinders.
“We donated plenty of stuff. It was an emotional thought. As a family, when we think of a noble deed, we announce it to the family. We understood that doctors and nurses were dying and we started calculating estimates. However, due to miscalculation, the estimated donation amount had one less zero than the actual amount we donated,” Juneja said.
Mankind Pharma had also announced that it would donate a certain amount of money on the death of any frontline worker including chemists, police officers, nurses or doctors.
“What we had pledged, we had to donate 10x more. So we ended up giving around Rs 250 crore at that time. We gave without any expectation. But we got so much love and appreciation for that. It was all unexpected. It happened just like that. Something big happened out of a mistake,” he further added.
Juneja stated that the company’s contributions were met with unexpected love and appreciation, turning a mistake into a remarkable act of kindness.
“It happened just like that. Something big happened out of a mistake,” he told the host.
