- Radhakishan Damani, the founder of Avenue Supermarts, donates some $100 crores to the PM-CARES Fund to counter the coronavirus pandemic.
Radhakishan Damani, the founder of Avenue Supermarts, donates some $100 crores to the PM-CARES Fund to counter the coronavirus pandemic. He also donated to many state relief funds with about 55 crores. Damani has contributed to Bright Star Investments, his company business.
“We completely support the swift steps taken by India’s federal, state and local government bodies to protect the general public. We will need to do our utmost to protect our societies and fellow countrymen,” Avenue Supermarts said in a statement.
“Our founder, Radhakishan Damani, through his group company Bright Star Investments Private Limited, has donated a further $100 to the PM CARES Fund and a further $555 to various state aid funds in this regard,” he said.
Donations to states include $10 each for Maharashtra and Gujarat, $5 each for Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Punjab and $2.5 each for Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, respectively.
Damani Avenue Supermarts Ltd owns and operates the single-stop DMart supermarket chain. Damani is also known on the Indian stock market for his investments.
Avenue Supermart CEO Radhakishan Damani is the second-richest Indian after leaving behind heavyweight names like philanthropist Shiv Nadar, banker Uday Kotak, and industrialists Gautam Adani and Lakshmi Mittal,
With a total wealth of $17.9 billion, businessman and retailer Radhakishan Damani is just behind Reliance Industries Ltd. chairman Mukesh Ambani, who is not only the richest man in India but also Asia, according to Forbes ‘ Real-Time Billionaires List. Radhakishan Damani and his family saw a rise of about $96 million in their fortunes on Friday, an increase of 0.54 percent. Mukesh Ambani, by comparison, has a total net worth of $57.9 billion.
Avenue Supermarts shares reached an all-time high on BSE on February 13, at Rs 2,559 apiece. On February 5th, the company had reported a share sale to institutional investors.
Recently, Ratan Tata-led business company Tata joined the fight against coronavirus distress. Tata Trusts, Tata Sons and the Tata group companies are pooling Rs 500 crore towards the coronavirus relief fund, chairman Ratan Tata declared on Saturday in an Instagram message.
The fund will be used to provide medical staff with protective equipment, respiratory systems to treat that cases, test kits to speed up country testing and develop treatment centers for those who have already contracted the virus. The group has also said it will train health workers and the public to motivate them against coronavirus.