India's richest man Mukesh Ambani-owned oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries is working to develop a new anti-Covid formulation -- a tapeworm drug -- as the country grapples with a devastating second wave of the pandemic.

Reliance has disclosed the information about the drug 'Niclosamide' as a possible cure for coronavirus in its annual report for the financial year 2020-21, filed with markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

India has recorded over 28 million cases to date -- second only to the US -- and is now the epicentre of the global pandemic. The country has also recorded more than 300,000 deaths, the third-highest fatality count in the world, behind the US and Brazil.

Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out the world's largest Covid vaccination drive on January 16, the country is currently facing an acute shortage of jabs. 

Serum Institute-produced Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine Covishield and local company Bharat Biotech's Covaxin are currently being given to citizens. Covishield is also being used in Bangladesh's mega inoculation drives.

Moreover, in view of the ongoing pandemic, Reliance has decided to pay full salaries for five years to the families of employees who succumbed to Covid-19, and put in place a liberal leave policy for the serving staff affected by coronavirus.

In a statement, the conglomerate has said that under the 'Reliance Family Support and Welfare Scheme', it would fully fund tuition fees, hostel accommodation and books of all the children of the deceased employees, up to graduation.

Reliance has also promised 100 percent payment of premium for hospitalisation coverage for the spouse, parents and children of those employees."Further, all colleagues affected by Covid-19 personally or within their family can avail the special Covid-19 leave for the full duration of their recovery, both physically and emotionally," according to the statement signed by Mukesh and his wife Nita.

The second richest person in Asia and the 14th richest in the world, Mukesh's current net worth is around USD 78 billion. His Reliance Group is now India's most valuable company by market capitalisation.

UNB had earlier reported about Mukesh's rumoured plans to hand over three core business areas of Reliance Industries to his three children -- Akash, Isha and Anant -- and also about his aggressive fundraising spree to make his conglomerate debt-free amid the pandemic.

The fundraising spree was aimed at reducing Reliance's dependence on the flagship oil sector to diversify into telecom and e-commerce. Last year, Reliance raised USD 15.2 billion by selling stakes in its telecom unit Jio and another USD 7 billion through rights issue.

The digital news outlet had also reported about Reliance's plans to take its telecom arm Jio public in the 2021-22 fiscal, riding on the increased digital adoption across the world, in the wake of Covid. India's internet users are likely to grow to 850 million by 2022.