Ambani’s Reliance, Tata Steel Ltd., ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India and JSW Steel Ltd. are among manufacturers that have diverted thousands of metric tons of liquid medical oxygen from their plants. Others such as consumer giant ITC Ltd. and the Adani Group — controlled by India’s second-richest man Gautam Adani — are shipping in cryogenic tanks, and offering portable concentrators and generators.

As Indian authorities and hospitals struggle to cope with record Covid-19 infections and deaths, companies ranging from the nation’s biggest conglomerate to global giants like Amazon.com Inc. are stepping in to help ease the crisis.

India’s federal and state governments, grossly unprepared to tackle the latest coronavirus wave, have also encouraged the non-state sector to help narrow the vast chasm of shortages. “Saving lives is more important than producing steel,” said Sajjan Jindal, chairman of JSW Steel, the largest producer of the gas among the country’s non-state companies in India.