India Inc on the jab to vaccinate staff above 45

Both India Inc and startups are getting ready to offer vaccinations in workplaces — whether offices or factories. Among those who confirmed their plans to ET are Tata Steel, Biocon, Vedanta, L&T, Maruti Suzuki, Dalmia Bharat Group, Ceat Tyres, TVS Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Capgemini, Alstom, Saint-Gobain, Panasonic India, Apollo Tyres, Publicis Sapient, Urban Company and BigBasket.

Plans are being firmed up following the government’s announcement that employers who can marshal at least 100 employees aged 45 and above can offer workplace inoculation. Large companies such as Tata Steel, Vedanta, Maruti Suzuki are tying up with private hospitals and holding discussions with the local health authorities to conduct the vaccinations on their premises.

Many had started planning before the government announcement on Wednesday. Top manufacturers said since there is a shortage of vaccines, they are prioritising factory workers who do not have an option of working remotely. Companies are also hoping that the vaccination drive opens for people under 45 years.


Biocon intends to start this drive at its workplace from Monday and says it has in-house medical infrastructure. “Vaccine delivery suffers from two challenges: vaccine hesitancy and vaccine convenience. Delivering it at the office premises removes vaccination hesitancy as you see your colleagues getting the shot, which helps deal with any fear you may have,” Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairperson, Biocon told ET.

Panasonic India had initiated discussions with a hospital a month ago and it already has 50 registrations. “We are starting with our corporate office in Gurgaon and are discussing launching it in our factory in Jhajjar in Haryana,” said Adarsh Mishra, CHRO, Panasonic India.

A district task force chaired by the district magistrate and urban task force chaired by the municipal commissioner will identify the government and the private offices for vaccination after due deliberations with employers and/or the head of offices.

The companies will appoint a ‘nodal officer’ who will coordinate with the district health authorities and private Covid-19 vaccination centres (CVCs). The nodal officer will oversee and facilitate all aspects of vaccination at the workplace CVC like beneficiary registration, availability of physical and IT infrastructure.

Tata Steel has been vaccinating health workers and frontline workers since January 16 at all the company-owned hospitals. “In view of the new guidelines related to Covid-19 vaccination at workplaces, we are evaluating all options and will pursue vaccination at our plant sites and office locations in line with applicable provisions,” said a company spokesperson.

Among those prioritising vaccinations at the factories is Dalmia Bharat Group. “We are prioritising vaccination at our factories and then we will vaccinate office staff who have the option of working from home,” the company’s chief HR officer Ajit Menon said.

Sunil Duggal, chief safety officer and Group CEO, Vedanta, said: “We are offering our hospitals as vaccine centres. Each Vedanta business unit is looking at accelerating the vaccination programme through procurement of vaccines and establishing a link with government-aided medical providers to administer the vaccines.”

Ceat Tyres, a part of the RPG Enterprises, has factories in Nashik, Bhandup, Nagpur and Ambernath, among other places in Maharashtra, which is leading the second Covid wave.

“The average age group of our employees in Nashik and Bhandup plant is 45-46 and we want to get them vaccinated at the earliest,” said Milind Apte, senior vice president – HR at Ceat Tyres. “We are also factoring in a couple of days of absenteeism in our production schedule plan due to possible side effects, if any, after people get vaccinated,” he added.

Auto majors such as Maruti Suzuki India, Mahindra & Mahindra which have planned new launches and do not want to reduce shifts, are keen to get their factory workers vaccinated. “Our high focus is to get shop floor associates vaccinated as soon as possible, subject to eligibility. The company will bear the cost of the vaccine,” said Rajeshwar Tripathi, CHRO, Mahindra & Mahindra.

Companies including Saint-Gobain, Publicis Sapient and BigBasket where the average age group is younger, are preparing to kick off their drives in the near future when vaccination is expanded to people under 45 years.

“Once vaccination opens up, we will consider holding drives in our offices for sure,” said Kameshwari Rao, chief people officer, Publicis Sapient.

BigBasket, which has a younger workforce and does not have enough 45+ people at any of its locations to organise a vaccination camp, concurs. “We will definitely be arranging camps at our workplaces once the age criteria is relaxed to include a younger population,” said TN Hari, HR head at the online retailer.

(Additional reporting by Lijee Philip)