After IIT Bombay and IIT Kharagpur’s initiatives to battle against the deadly virus, IIT Kanpur has recently launched a dedicated website to provide verified COVID-19 leads to those in need. The website is known as India COVID Support and it aims to provide verified leads related to various supplies required by families suffering from Covid-19 infections. 

According to sources, the website is currently operational and running with 1100+ ‘verified’ entries since its launch. The platform also allows people to upload leads.

Abhay Karandikar, Director at IIT Kanpur took to the microblogging platform to announce the launch of the portal. Karandikar stated, “The #secondwave of #COVID19 has hit the entire nation quite strongly. One of the consequences of the ongoing #pandemic is unavailability of vetted information. While various information is being floated on the #social media platforms but the information lacks authenticity.”

The initiative is achieved through its Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre along with a team of 50+ volunteers from the non-IITK population. 

According to Karandikar, the two main features of the website are-

• A person gets to access verified information on the status of availability of different supply items such as oxygen cylinders, ICU beds etc in a city-wise manner.
• A person can volunteer to upload the relevant data in verified or unverified manner.

Last year during the first wave, the institute supported small and medium businesses that were facing the unfolding challenges of the pandemic. It created a business resource platform titled, Technopark@iitk, to allow the beleaguered MSMEs to leverage the Institute’s research & development (R&D) strengths. Under the Technopark@iitk, the Institute has designed an ‘Affiliate Membership Model’ to provide a gateway to the MSMEs to access its deep-seated R&D infrastructure.

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