New Delhi, May 10 (IANS): Ola Foundation, the philanthropic arm of cab aggregator Ola, on Monday announced its partnership with GiveIndia to provide consumers with oxygen concentrators for free through the Ola app.

The service, as part of Ola's O2ForIndia initiative, will start rolling out in Bangalore, starting this week. From an initial set of 500 oxygen concentrators, Ola and GiveIndia plan to scale it up across the country with upto 10,000 concentrators in the coming weeks, the company said.

"We must come together and help our communities during these unprecedented times. With the O2ForIndia initiative in partnership with GiveIndia, we will provide free and easy access to oxygen concentrators to those in need. We hope this initiative brings much-needed support during these very difficult times and helps in mitigating the pain and the anxiety among those impacted." said Bhavish Aggarwal, Chairman and Group CEO, Ola, in a statement.

To avail an oxygen concentrator, consumers will have to log into the Ola app and provide a few basic details. Once submitted, the request will be validated and Ola will bring the concentrator to the consumer's doorstep via one of its cabs with a specially trained driver.

Once the patient gets better and no longer requires the concentrator, Ola will pick the device and return it to GiveIndia to supply for the next patient. This entire experience will be seamless and the oxygen concentrator as well as the doorstep delivery and pickup will be completely free for consumers, the company said.

"We are happy to partner with Ola during these difficult times. Through this initiative, we will provide oxygen concentrators to those recovering or isolating at home, right at their doorstep. We hope the easier access to oxygen will ease the distress of many patients," said Atul Satija, CEO and Founder 2.0 at GiveIndia, in the statement.