Darshana Thakkar

Unlock-1: Say Bye-Bye to lockdown, Hello to reopening, Welcome reinvention​ After sudden winding down of the business operations for weeks, companies are being asked to restart their engines at an unprecedented rate as lockdown rules are gradually relaxed. The challenge is complicated by uncertainties about the progression of COVID-2019 and the social, political and fiscal actions that it will drive. Reopening requires more than a return to normal as nothing is going to be as it as before COVID. There will be a set of business practices pre-COVID and post-COVID. However, because the unpredictable and long-lasting period that follows this pandemic will lead to fundamental changes to economic activity, fast-changing cultural norms, societal values, and behaviors. To reopen and to outplay uncertainty also requires a program of reinvention. The reopening will be more than just a restart. It will be the beginning of a new era of business. The rules have changed. Employee and c...

1) essential services Consumer retail and internet businesses would be less affected because a majority of their offerings fall under “essential items” as outlined by the government.  Ecommerce-based deliveries will continue to go up. Non-discretionary spending on categories like durables and high-ticket electronic items are likely to go down. The supply of agri-commodities is expected to be normal in the short term but the larger the impact will be known only over the next quarter, according to Agri experts. Government policies on transport and logistics will also play a huge role in the pricing. However, export opportunities in non-China countries are likely to open up . But, supply chain inefficiencies need to be strategies and the labor workforce needs to be aligned to work for essential services, according to KPMG. 2)    Health care sector India’s public health expenditure is projected to go up from 1.28 percent to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2025. ...

The current Corona outbreak has adversely impacted the Indian economy as a whole at least for short to medium  term.  1)   Falling domestic consumption Consumption of non-essential items is expected to go through a “steep” reduction curve in this quarter. These include transport, communication services, consumer durables like TVs, Freeze, ACs and other domestic appliances, Tourism, spends on recreation and culture, hotels and restaurants, Business and social travel, and even education and skilling. Other un-organized sectors like an event planner, caterers etc and many more Weak domestic consumption and consumer sentiment will have firms delay their investment, which will, in turn, put additional pressure on growth. With increasing job losses and pay cuts across industries, non-essential spending will be hit further, and big businesses will be affected eventually.   However, essential items like food, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, clo...

Coronavirus adds to India’s slowdown, but is there light at the end of the tunnel? The coronavirus crisis is expected to pull the world into a recession. No country is insulated from its horrors. But, Is there any different Scenario for Indian businesses and consumers as they go through an extended lockdown? The coronavirus pandemic occurred at a time when the world was already going through the trouble – rising crude prices, slowing economies, depreciating currencies, increasing trade tensions, loss of employment, work visas, and so on The pandemic has led to massive supply chain inefficiencies, dipped consumer demand crashed global stock markets, paused economic and industrial activity, and brought about drastic changes in lifestyles and social behavior. On the other side in a short period of time due to a drastic reduction in fuel due to lockdown, crude reduced to negative prices due to challenges of excess supply. Farmers are also in a loss as due to lockdown perisha...