“Don’t follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you.” — Margaret Thatcher
When in a crisis, what matters most is how much strength you have. Not just the strength to pull through, but the strength to dream, to create and to achieve. Covid-19 managed to bruise every industry globally. In India too the story is similar. Going by an early June 2020 report of the World Bank, India’s GDP is set to contract by 3.2 per cent in the current fiscal.
Even so, amidst the tales of despair and ruin there are examples of resilience. The FMCG sector in particular has shown immense perseverance and innovation in the face of crisis. E-commerce became all important and a predictable rise in demand for personal hygiene products saw innovation being used not just in product lines, but communication as well. Grit and determination to keep going was apparent in the face of glitches in supply chains and restrictions on movement, among other hurdles.
This issue looks at sectors that have persevered in the face of the crisis that the pandemic has brought on. Businesses have re-oriented time tested paradigms and re-invented themselves to cope with drastic changes in consumption patterns and demands. We look in-depth into sectors like aviation, luxury goods and agriculture that are all tryingto cope with these unusual times. Agrarian India will probably be blessed with a spurt in demand and a good monsoon, but will supply chain hurdles trip farmers? We take stock of key elements required to re-group and re-build businesses.
In this issue we also bring to you a feature on the Top 50 Mid-Size Workplaces in India by Great Place To Work and a perception-based survey on the impact of Covid-19 on businesses across sectors by TechSci. BW Businessworld has always lauded the strides women have taken to be equal partners in business and the economy. This issue has an exclusive interview with FICCI President, Sangita Reddy, who has initiated the FICCI-FLO project titled ‘Empowering the Greater 50%’.
On a different note, we playback to you some chords of Music Inc 3.0 – a music webinar organised by BW Businessworld, featuring top industry talents such as Yo Yo Honey Singh, Shibani Kashyap, Benny Dayal, Meet Brothers, Jasbir Jassi, among others. The Last Word in this edition of BW Businessworld goes to cricketer Yuvraj Singh, who underscores the need for determination and inner strength to overcome challenges. As always, we have the regular columns that all of you look forward to. I do hope you enjoy reading this issue, as much as we did writing it.
Happy Reading!
This article was first published in the print issue of (25 June- 09 July) BW Businessworld.
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