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Tag: Coronavirus Pandemic

  • Reasons Why These Startup Sectors Bloomed During Lockdown

    In the unprecedented time, where everyone is talking about the economic slowdown and financial difficulties, there have been a few startups sectors that have managed grow exponentially well.

    The Covid 19 pandemic has shaken the world and has brought many business to a halt, although startups have lost their momentum they are already on the path to recover while the newly created trends are expected to see a long term success.

    Nasscom said that 40% off Indian tech startups were forced to halt operation, however the investments and startups have shown resilience and recovered as India saw a rapid shift to digital services and payments. Data from industry tracker Tracxn showed that, investors have put in about $9.3 billion into startups in 2020 despite the Covid 19 pandemic upending many sectors of the economy.

    Ed –Tech
    Fintech
    Health and wellness
    HR tech: Cloud and SaaS
    OTT platforms
    Online Gaming
    FAQ

    How These Startup Sectors Bloomed During Lockdown

    One of the simple explanation for the growth of some section of the startups is the emergence of the “Covid economy” which demands or medical supplies and coronavirus related goods which naturally grew during the pandemic, creating lots of opportunities for new companies to step in and take their share of a rapidly developing market. These companies realize that post Covid 19, this new normal will be accepted as the norm for the remaining in the competitive business.

    For some of these sectors, the new normal would bring in newfound opportunities. A whole new market that was untouched before is now up for grabs. As we are talking of all this, some startups are already working upon the aforesaid scenario. Let’s take a closer look at the startup sectors that are most likely to flourish after the end of COVID-19.

    Lets look at the Sectors that Bloomed During Lockdown

    Ed –Tech

    One sector that continues to grow rapidly is online education. With Covid 19 locking down Indian citizen since the end of March, online education and e-learning platform have become the need of the hour and so has seen an astounding adoption and exponential growth.

    The online education sector is observing a sudden surge and people from all walks of life,  all the Covid 19 affected nations are looking up to alternatives of conventional teaching and learning.

    That’s not surprising, considering that a whopping 1.5 billion students were grounded almost overnight as cities locked down and schools closed. A report by BARC India and Nielsen reveals that there has been a 30% increase in the time spent on education apps on smartphones since the lockdown.

    People are afraid to send their children to places where social distancing is not practiced and hence the ed tech sector is tapping on every possible entity they can.

    Well known EdTech startups of India
    Well known EdTech startups of India

    Ed tech are coming up with solutions that find their usage in various places from universities and schools, to remote employee onboarding, and upskilling to learn new skills and hobbies. Byju’s India earliest Ed tech startup saw 7.5 million new users on its platform since it started offering free access to content. The time spent on its app increased from 70 minutes pre-lockdown to 91 minutes during the lockdown.

    The story is the same for other edtech players in the arena. Unacademy recorded 1.4 billion watch minutes while Toppr saw 100 percent growth in free user engagement in March. While Edtech startups Great Learning said its annual revenue rose 150 percent to Rs 325 crore. The Vedantu platform has also grown exponentially to 6.5 lakh additional learners across K-12 and competitive exams such as JEE and NEET.

    Toppr’s Growth To Becoming A Edtech Competitor During Pandemic
    With the unprecedented times of the Covid 19, the one sector that has seen anexponential growth is the Ed-Tech sector. With the lockdown of many Indianmetropolitan cities since the end March, online education and e-learningplatform have seen an astonishing adoption and growth. This however, is no…
    StartupTalkyPV Vyshnavi

    Fintech

    During the pandemic the demand for contactless solutions has accelerated the employment of fintech services. This growth of the fintech sector helped the users to check for much more personalized, multi optional financial experience and new trends in areas like banking payments, insurtech, etc. Out of 900 plus deals and $11.5 billion total funding raised in 2020, fintech topped the chart with $2.1 billion in funding and 131 in deal counts.

    In such times fintech startups play a pivotal role as they are a perfect option to the stringent and conventional banking systems which sometimes fall short on policies. For small scale enterprise or unemployed individuals who require funds on short notices, these financial entities are the only ray of hope. The pandemic has acted as a booster for the country’s fintech sector giving it the much needed energy and growth trajectory to expand its footprint across the nation.

    According to Inc42 Plus, funding in fintech is expected to grow to $2.7 Bn in 2021. This is why of the 11 Indian startups Unacademy, Pine Labs, FirstCry, Zenoti, Nykaa, Postman, Zerodha, Razorpay, Cars24, Dailyhunt and Glance that became unicorns in 2020, three belonged to the fintech segment. The growth volume stood at 70% from 1.30 billion transactions in December 2019 to 2.2 billion in 2020, while the value of UPI transactions increased 105% from Rs 2.02 lakh crore in December 2019 to Rs 4.16 lakh crore in December 2020.

    Among the leading deals in the fintech sector last year, Flipkart founder Sachin Bansal-owned Navi Technologies led the chart with $398 Mn infusion by Bansal, Gaja Capital, and World Bank’s investment arm IFC, followed by Pine Labs at $300 Mn and PaySense’s acquisition by PayU at $185 Million.

    An Overview Of The Telemedicine Industry In India
    The Covid 19 outbreak has created many challenges on traditional healthcaresystems, as citizens have not been able to consult with the doctors physically. The telemedicine industry is expected to create more than $5.4 billion marketopportunity by 2025. Practo and DocPrime, mFine, CallHealth and L…
    StartupTalkyPV Vyshnavi

    Health and wellness

    The pandemic has pushed health and wellness services online and has resulted in a boom of online health and wellness services such as telehealth tech, remote diagnostics, and monitoring, remote mental healthcare, online fitness, healthy diets, motivational contents, and more. According to a report by Practo, online doctor consultations have increased 500% since March 2020, as five crore Indians are now accessing healthcare online amidst the Covid 19 pandemic.

    Companies like Practo and DocPrime, mFine, CallHealth and Lybrate are some of the leading telemedicine startups, while other small startups are looking to make it in the industry that is currently on the rise. The telemedicine market in India is expected to reach $5.4 Billion by 2025 with a CAGR of 31%. Innovative technologies are allowing health organizations to enhance the access and reduce the burden on hospitals through real time consultation with doctors through smartphones tablets, laptops or PCs.

    Telemedicine will reduce the time of consultations and improve the quality of healthcare services in rural areas, removing many of infrastructural challenges. Telemedicine can also help in reducing the burden on the tertiary hospitals by providing diagnosis and treatment to patients in their own geographical location and reducing chances of patient’s exposure due to hospital visits. While India is already one of the top 10 countries in the telemedicine marketing the world, adoption of a regulatory framework will help the segment grow rapidly.

    Well known telemedicine startups of India
    Well known telemedicine startups of India

    HR tech: Cloud and SaaS

    The rise of HR SaaS and remote working platforms in times of Covid 19 is not surprising. SaaS and remote working tools fall right in the path of success in such times. Businesses are also now understanding the value and operational simplicity that cloud adoption can bring to their IT environments, and various reports forecast a further increase in the use of SaaS solutions in 2021 and beyond. These applications would serve the founding stones for the majority of business operations in the future and a haven for existing ones.

    The covid 19 pandemic has been unable to dampen the interest of investors in Indian startups which offer software as a services (SaaS). According to a report by Brain and company the SaaS firms could capture 7%-9% of the market by 2022, and SaaS companies founded by Indians can reach upto $20 billion in revenue.

    The global SaaS market is estimated to grow to $230 billion in 2022 from $145 billion in 2019. Startups such as Zoho, Druva, Icertis, and Freshworks which breached the $100-million annual recurring revenue (ARR) mark, adding that there is a healthy pipeline of companies.

    Growth Of Indian Gaming Industry During Pandemic
    The Indian online gaming Industry is growing at an exponential rate upon yearand is expected to be worth $1.1 billion by 2021. The industry has experienced adrastic growth at the beginning of 2020 due to the pandemic. When otherbusinesses shut down, the gaming industry got lots of new users. The …
    StartupTalkyPV Vyshnavi

    OTT platforms

    OTT platform have proven to be time and cost effective, provide a more personalized version of the same experience and one can experience these at the comfort of their homes. OTT platforms in India are growing exponentially in the terms of subscribership because of various reasons. Digital India plays a major role in promoting the use of OTT platforms to stream diverse content from all over the world. One of the reason the availability of cheaper smartphones and internet has enabled a large chunk of the population to gain access to online platforms.

    Platforms like Voot, Sony Liv and Zee 5 are OTT platforms developed by existing broadcast channels to remain relevant and to cater to the shift in audience from TV viewership to OTT platforms. However, most of their content on these platforms are the same as the ones broadcasted on TV. With the entry of global players like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, users are offered a plethora of original content. Hotstar is currently the most popular OTT platform in India according to data from a mobile advertising and Internet service provider.

    Online Gaming

    In India, Covid 19 has taken this sector to the next level as there have been new gaming startups and platform have been reporting increased revenues mainly because of the pandemic. Furthermore, there is an emergence of new industry trends such as e- gaming, fantasy gaming and cloud-based gaming. Additionally, gaming is not only about playing anymore, but it is also about watching. the Indian online gaming Industry is growing at an exponential rate upon year and is expected to be worth $1.1 billion by 2021.

    Winzo games reported three times more user engagement and 30% higher traffic in online mobile gaming. Similarly Paytm First games also reported 200% increase, with 75,000 new users only during the pandemic. Three in every five serious gamers are now playing for around four hours more than before the lockdown. The online gaming industry is still quite an unexplored area in India but the companies that have taken the leap are flourishing and are now expected to grow by 41% in 2021.

    FAQ

    Conclusion

  • SOLAR ENERGY MARKET: BUILDING SUSTAINABLE INDIA

    India is furnished with vast solar energy potential. Solar is the most secure source of energy because it is abundantly available in nature. Solar power is the fastest developing industry in India. Solar power is a renewable source of energy. It is the power produced by the sun’s light. The solar energy invested reach of our nation was about 35,739 as of August 2020. There has been an eminent impact of solar power in the Indian energy scenario in the past few years.

    India has built 42 solar potential parks to make the area available to promoters of solar plants. The solar energy installed capacity of our nation was about 35,739 as of August 2020. There has been an eminent impact of solar power in the Indian energy scenario in the past few years.  India has built forty-two solar energy parks to create a realm accessible to promoters of solar plants. Rooftop solar energy is 2.1 GW, of that 70 % is industrial. By the year-end of 2015, a million solar lanterns were traded that reduced the utilization of lamp oil.  118,700 solar home lighting systems were put in, and 1.4 million solar cookers were administered in India.

    India achieved the 5th global position in solar power arrangement by surpassing Italy.

    Annual Solar Power Generation(TWh)

    Future of Solar Power Market

    The changing lifestyle of people with the increasing industrialization has made electricity a vital commodity. To decrease the concern of high electricity demand with decreasing fossil fuels, policy makers have been looking for a sustainable source of electricity generation. Solar energy is the readiest and green option available.

    The report published by IMD (Indian Meteorological Department) states that  The solar energy received is more than 15000 times the commercial energy consumption, and this energy is available during the day without any constraint.

    According to GOGLA (Global Association For the Off-Grid Solar Energy Industry), the market for distributed solar power merchandise is expected to grow more than two-and-a-half times to Rs 10,117 crore by the year 2023. Including solar lamps, solar pump kits, and other home devices. It is estimated that the current market size for distributed solar in our country is at Rs 3,878 crore, including  Rs 3,170 owned by the government and the rest by private owned entities. The sales are estimated to grow to Rs 2,617 crore in the private sector and Rs 7,500 crore in the government sector. Most of the future sales are estimated to come from lanterns with some additional services like mobile charging, radio, etc. and solar home systems. Increasing income and energy demand are the key market drivers.

    Sustainable Development through Solar Energy

    Investing in domestic manufacturing may help in building the supply chain, control prices, and earn foreign exchange through exports. This will help in creating job opportunities, increasing the GDP(Gross Domestic Product) for the nation.

    Biogas Startups In India
    Most of the Indian cities are suffering due to illegal dumping of wastes. A major part of these wastes are organic waste. Biogas technology enables us to utilize organic wastes in an effective way. Let us discuss about biogas startups in India. Some of them are given below.
    StartupTalkyATHUL C K

    Year Cumulative Capacity of Solar Power Units

    IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC

    The imposition of a nationwide lockdown by the government to control the coronavirus outbreak harmed the whole economy. The solar industry will have immediate challenges due to the COVID-19 outbreak, such as the shortage of labor force compliance with social distancing, shortage of equipment and parts, and discrete expenditure by users. India’s solar power sector is struggling in the pandemic. There has been a decline in electricity consumption of 30% due to the lockdown of industries and markets.
    China is the largest supplier of solar raw materials such as cells, glass, back sheets, frames, junction boxes, etc. Due to the coronavirus crisis, there was a long hold on the import of such items from china, the module assembling capacity of manufacturers is being affected. There may be a rise in solar module prices shortly as the manufacturers have begun experiencing raw material shortages. The prices of various components will rise because of the decrease in supply from China. Engineering, procurement, and production companies now have to bear all the variable factors from procurement of bills of material of the panel to the manufacturing and supply chain.

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    Rural Electrification

    • The scarcity of electricity is the main hitch of rural development. In 2004, about 80000 villages did not have electricity.
    • In the year 2004 more than 5000 villages were supplied with electricity through solar power systems.
    • Lighting and Lamps: By 2012, 4,600,000  solar lamps and 561,654 solar-powered lights were installed in homes.
    • Agricultural Support: Solar water-pumping systems are used for irrigation and drinking water.
    • By 2019 181,521 Solar Photovoltaic water pumping systems were installed in India. Low-cost solar vehicles are available for agricultural activities.

    34 Business Ideas To Implement In Rural Areas [In 2020]
    This post describes some incredible rural business ideas that can be launched ona full-time basis or as an afterthought. If you live in a rural area, it mayseem hard to think of business ideas. Numerous business sectors that are easilyaccessible in huge urban areas are not available in case of ru…
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    Government Aid

    The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy(MNRE) installed 51 solar radiation resource assessment stations across India to create a database.  India started a Rs 40 crore project to measure solar radiation. The government allocated Rs 1000 crore for the national solar mission and clean-energy fuel fund for the year 2010-2011. The government reduced import duties on solar panels by 5% which encouraged private sector companies. The Indian government also reduced the price of PV power from rs 4.43/KWh to Rs 4.00/KWh. During January 2019, the term for authorizing the production of the solar power plants was lessened to 18 months for units located outside the solar parks and 15 months for separate units from the date of the contract. In May 2020, the tariff was reduced to rs 2.90/KWh.

    Top Solar Power Companies In India

    Incentives By the Government

    • Viability Gap Funding:  The funding was Rs 1 crore/MW for open projects on average in the year 2016.
    • Depreciation: 40% of the total investment in rooftop solar systems could be claimed as depreciation in the first year.
    • 25% safeguard duty is imposed for 2 years from 2018 on the imports to safeguard the local manufacturers.
    • Capital subsidies to rooftop solar plants up to 500 KWh.
    • Renewable Energy Certificates(REC): Financial incentives for every unit of green energy generated.
    • Power Purchase Agreement(PPA): Offering fair market-determined tariff for solar power.
    • ISTS(Interstate Transmission Systems):  Charges and losses are not taxable during the period of PPA.
    • Subsidy of 70% and 30% is granted by the Union Government for hilly regions.

  • How to start a pandemic-era business and its benefits

    There is never a perfect timing for starting a business, sometimes, there are but it only stops you from taking the risk. Organizations like General Motors, IBM, and Disney were all founded right before the Great Depression. Facebook, Twitter, and many others also made it through the economic crisis.

    Whether anyone starts a company before, during, or after a recession or global pandemic does not necessarily mean one is going to be more successful in the long term. If anything, global crises are what highlight the next pile of problems the world needs to solve to move forward which gives rise to hundreds and thousands of new companies, new markets, and new opportunities.

    As we are currently in this global crisis, there are multiple interesting opportunities for entrepreneurs.

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    Why is pandemic the perfect time to start any business

    Employees of the Organizations enjoy the work without long commutes. Without as much of social life, without many of the work that used to keep us busy, some people have potentially more time than they’ve ever had to invest in getting an idea off the ground.

    Here are some reasons why it is the perfect time to start a business.

    Business built in the current situation will only be stronger in the future

    Nobody has any idea how long this recession will last. However, if one creates a company that is valuable to people in an environment that is full of declining demand and rising unemployment, the idea of the business is only going to be stronger and flourish when the economy starts to improve.

    Starting a business means entrepreneurs will be even more frugal with expenses, hiring, and whatever they need to get the company started.

    A lot of talented and skilled people are looking for employment

    It’s not just small businesses that are adversely affected by the pandemic. Even the multinational companies and most heavily funded startups are firing people right now.

    Currently, the market is full of talented individuals looking for their next opportunity. As more companies move to remote workforces, this will unfold more opportunities for the right workers to find the right companies. This is a great time to find a co-founder and other teammates and build a category-defined company.

    Businesses that start and solve problems in a crisis tend to grow faster

    Generally, new consumer startups tend to be at the forefront of where the world is going with a digital focus, heavy content education and differentiation, and convenience, demand and supply focus for their customers. It’s no surprise that many of these businesses are suited for the current environment.

    But what about companies that aren’t so lucky to be benefiting from these changes? Rule number one of entrepreneurship, when things go wrong, you don’t just give up. There is no option of quitting. There’s no perfect time to start a business. What matters is how motivated you are to begin.

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    The coronavirus aka COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread with no signs offading away. Preventive measures taken by the public sector and by globalindustry are already having widespread effects. Most of the businesses aroundthe world are facing many challenges and lower demands of their services …
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    Tips to run a business during the pandemic

    Some amazing tips to run and flourish the businesses during the pandemic

    Quick to respond

    The entrepreneurs should be quick to respond in these times than in normal situations. There are many challenges and problems faced by the businesses and consumer as well. The team should be very flexible, responsive, and understanding about the additional challenges the pandemic adds to what are generally already extremely stressful events for the customers.

    Consider the Benefits of working from home

    Encourage the team and explain the perks of working from home. The privacy of employees is intact and undisturbed. Also, encourage everyone to enjoy the benefits, maybe work on the balcony for a little, go for a walk during day time, work flexible hours where possible.

    Increase communication

    Having a remote team during the pandemic, the communication and coordination among the employees have reduced. To increase communication amongst the team, rather than weekly check-ins and teleconference staff meetings, subordinates can check in with each other in some way daily.

    A short text, an email, a phone call, whatever it takes and works best. With this, employees can be there for each other as needed, and address needs as they arise, relieving both team member and team stresses.

    Always hope for the best and work for it accordingly

    Business owners or entrepreneurs need to be the one who comforts and be a leader to give great hope. They must have a steady hand to keep things intact. People tend to allow crisis and hysteria to outpace the business.

    The most important thing for new leaders is clear-headedness and accuracy of the emergency. Oftentimes, the cure can be worse than the disease, and CEOs have a responsibility to manage the psyche of people around them and work to gain confidence.

    Ask yourself these questions if you want to start a business now:

    • Have I identified a new need that customers have as a result of the current crisis?
    • Can I serve this need in a way that is substantially better than the current alternatives?
    • Am I qualified to solve this customer problem?
    • If I don’t have the experience, can I hire others or find a co-founder to help me?
    • Do I have the level of funding that is needed for my business to be profitable?
    Pandemic Affected Business
    Pandemic Affected Businesses

    How can you launch a pandemic-era business

    Build a wide network and understand what they are looking for.

    Be a big relationship person, spend at least five hours per week talking to different people in the same domain of the business maintaining relationships.

    One of the things you want to know, as an entrepreneur, is what investors want to see to feel confident investing in the company. Is it about how much revenue you produce? Is it the growth rate of your customers? Different investors look for different things, so it’s important to understand and plan what exactly is needed.

    Have a long-term plan and strategy to make it through

    Deals are still getting signed, but investors want to see that you have a very clear plan for navigating the current environment. Investors want to know:

    • How do you plan on executing the business during a pandemic?
    • Why would someone buy your product/services and who is the buyer?
    • When do you plan to start generating revenue?
    • What key metrics are to be measured, and are those strong indicators of business development?

    The Bottom Line

    Investors are looking for options as to where to put their capital. The stock market is on fire and the interest rates are so low that investing in bonds and things like that won’t yield a high return. So this is the right time to investing in deals and make the right deals for the businesses.

  • Job profiles/Companies that are getting hikes during the Pandemic

    Working-class people have experienced the biggest hit due to the Pandemic. People are getting fired from their jobs, getting under-payed, and overworked. But there are also cases of hikes in salaries and hiring of employees across the globe.

    With the unprecedented situation that the world is facing, arising out of COVID-19 Pandemic, companies across the world have re-evaluated their HR practices, and while 50% organizations across industries are keeping the salary hike budgets unchanged, 36% have opted for a decline, according to a survey.

    In India’s COVID-19, HR Survey Report, KPMG said around 70% of the organizations across levels have reported absolute no change in the planned impact on fixed pay at the non-management and junior management levels.

    According to a survey that polled 315 organizations across 20 key industry sectors noted that 90% of the organizations have at least one initiative around the well-being of employees whereas 21% are quite proactive and have 5 or more initiatives to support employees well-being.

    While 50% organizations across industries are keeping their salary increment budgets unchanged, around 36% organizations have opted for decreasing the salary increment budgets. On the contrary, most organizations and profiles in IT/ITES, life sciences/pharma and retail sector have refrained from any downwards trend in the overall promotion cycle, the survey noted.

    To sustain this worldwide economic imbalance, a few organizations are implementing hiring freezes and wage freezes, while others are introducing remote working alternatives, enhancing employee engagement initiatives, and additional financial assistance. For those who were already in Medical services have their merits of service, lucrative ways delivery during this pandemic.

    Indian Salary Study in 2020
    Indian Salary Study in 2020

    Companies that are offering hikes in salaries

    Even as numerous start-ups or huge organizations continue to cut off employees’ salaries, others in segments like education, real estate, and logistics have seen business growing, fuelled by a surge in demand for their products during the pandemic and are hiring across roles. For some, even salary hikes and promotions are on the cards. There have been many IT firms, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), to one of the biggest multinationals present in India, Coca Cola, who have gone against the situation.

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    Asian Paints

    Asian Paints decided to give its employees a price hike in the face of an ongoing economic crisis amid lockdown. Asian Paints raised the hope and boosting staffs’ morale amid the pandemic gloom.

    Apart from going ahead with its annual salary increments, the company also transferred Rs 40 crore into the accounts of its contractors. Expanding its product range into sanitizers in lieu of the basic hygiene being encouraged as a part of the precautionary measures taken to combating COVID-19, the paintmaker now has a greater share of the customer wallet.

    ICICI Bank

    The private sector bank has decided to reward over 80% of its frontline employees with a salary hike of up to 8%. This hike has been given to the employees in appreciation of the services rendered by them during the pandemic.

    These increments bring good news to the Bank’s staff at a time when most other organizations are being either forced to hold back salary hikes, impose salary cuts and even resort to layoffs as part of a cost-cutting measure.

    The Board of Directors of ICICI Bank is reportedly thinking of raising funds through equity shares or equity-linked securities. The Bank has asked its employees to join back at their base locations and resume work as soon as possible.

    Coca Cola

    Coca Cola, that favourite punching-bag for everyone targeting the evils of capitalism, showed a humane face when it announced a salary hike.

    Coke’s Indian wing, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, with 15 bottling plants across the country, gave all its 7,000 employees a 7 to 8 % salary hike. The company also made it clear that there would be no lay-off or pay cuts because of sales disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown.

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    Brillio

    Brillio, a tech firm, is also optimistic in planning to add 240 new jobs to its Indian center, in addition to the 1,800 staff it already has. The reason is they have seen a 10% increase in productivity and 20% in people’s engagement since the lockdown. Hence they are moving at a faster pace to ramp up their teams.

    NoBroker

    NoBroker has been growing during the last one and half months despite the challenging market situations and even managed to raise $30 million in April. The number of inquiries has been increasing. A lot of people are looking to upgrade themselves to a bigger house. A majority of the fresh hiring will be for those from a technology background to support the growth as they shift to online tech.

    The organizations are offering salaries at par to the employees. Nobroker.com is known as to be one of the best paymasters and the salary at entry level starts from ₹6 LPA and depending on experience can go up to ₹40-50 lakh, especially for tech skillsets.

    Capgemini

    Capgemini French IT firm Capgemini has announced a salary hike for 70% of its employees in India in April. It will continue to hire as per the strategy and client/Job requirements. Employees who have joined the company during the lockdown are even completing their onboarding formalities online.

    BharatPe

    BharatPe Digital fintech startup has also decided to give its employees a hike in their pay. BharatPe has made its annual hikes as per the original schedule. The top performers scoring 3.8/5 or higher have all been given 20% plus increment in the appraisals. Commenting about this time, CEO and Co-founder Ashneer Grover was quoted,

    “We have used this unprecedented time to boost the technology and product and will be aggressively acquiring merchants. We tend to lend $100 million to small businesses from here till the end of the year.”

    Hike

    Hike shared its plans to continue hiring remotely as the ecosystem continues to navigate through a lockdown period. The company plans to hire for over 20 open positions across roles in product, design, marketing, AI & ML, engineering, partner functions and user research.

    Hike will be taking up more people onboard as a part of its ZeroTo2 program, which is focused on onboarding young candidates from colleges.

    Conclusion

    There are a number of factors why an Organization tries to cut the company’s cost. COVID-19 has shown the exact picture of which businesses are in profit and making better even in this difficult time. Hikes in salaries have a direct impact on the employee’s confidence and productivity.  

  • The Future Of FMCG Sector Post Pandemic

    The world is suffering from a pandemic caused by an extremely contagious virus- COVID-19. Its been almost six months, and yet things do not look to go back to “normal”. But the lives keep moving. The fast-growing changes in lifestyles have brought a drastic change in the marketing scenario and the FMCG sector has been affected the most.

    Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), are basically packaged goods that we buy at retail shops at a very low cost. These are also called as consumer packaged goods. They get sold out easily and are not durable.

    Some Thriving Brands of FMCG Across the World
    Some Thriving Brands of FMCG Across the World

    Categories of FMCG

    • Processed food
    • Beverage
    • Dry foods like tea,sugar,coffee
    • Prepared meals
    • Cosmetics
    • Toiletries
    • Over the counter medicines
    • Candy
    • Fresh foods like veggies
    • Frozen foods
    • Baked foods
    • Consumer electronics
    • Office supplies like pen,papers
    • Cleaning products
    • Clothes like socks,under garments.

    These are also called as consumer packaged goods. Some of the goods are highly perishable like processed meat, dairy products, etc. FMCG goods are the largest sector of consumer goods. Although half of the consumer’s spending accounts for these “fast-selling packaged goods, they tend to be low investment purchases.

    Future of FMCG from a Global Point of View

    E-commerce has come across a latest trend of piling of FMCGs. Following reasons can be attribute to the sudden change in the behavior of consumers all over the world.

    • Lack of fresh products have compelled the users to depend on packaging items.
    • More over package foods are easier to stock.
    • Development of panic buying attitude as regards to essential commodities including common medicines.
    • Avoiding/closer of restaurants have driven consumers to their own kitchens.
    • Sanitary, hygienic and over the counter medicines have been added to the buying list.

    Global projections that the share of online FMCG sales would comprise 10% of the total market by 2025. It is likely to be vastly understated given the pandemic’s role as a catalyst for e-commerce growth in the FMCG and grocery space. Most FMCG companies have fogged a tie-up with delivering companies such as Zomato, Swiggy, Dominos,  Big Basket and Dunzo to ensure that their products reach their customer amidst this pandemic.

    But companies are claiming that even after this pandemic, this could stay as the normal trend. As people are being acquainted to online ordering. Not to mention the convenience of  home delivery. It is expected the sales through e-commerce to increase from 2-3% to 4-5% post pandemic.

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    Future of FMCG from a National Point of View

    The FMCG sector is expected to grow since people have shifted to e-commerce post this virus outbreak. Due to WHO guidelines regarding social distancing, unnecessary bars, shopping malls, retail shops, and markets are closed. People maintaining distance socially in order to stay safe are choosing to buy their necessities online, instead of going to their near Kirana store.

    People in India would normally do their grocery shopping from the retail shop near, where they would buy goods sold on loose, but now due to pandemic people are forced to shift to e-commerce. Now instead of buying wheat flour from the nearest cottage mill, one has to buy the packaged product.

    In India, there has been seen a significant purchase of these packaged products in rural and semi-urban areas. Whereas the urban cities have shown a decline in the purchase of these goods. Because of severe lock-downs and restrictions on manufacturing and maintaining social distancing and store closures among others have had a severe impact on the FMCG industry.

    India saw a heavy decline (about 6%) in the month of January 2020. Even with a steady increase in the consumption of dairy products and other essentials, this sector is still facing a crisis due to this pandemic.

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    The FMCG sector is the 4th largest sector in the Indian economy. It has basically 3 main segments under it with a consumption patter under:

    • Food and beverages (19%)
    • Healthcare  (31%)
    • Household and personal care (50%)
    chart showing consumption of different FMCG products
    chart showing consumption of different FMCG products

    In India however, slashing the optimistic 5-6% FMCG growth estimate made around April of this year, it is now said to remain the same. In the worst-case scenario, to shrink 1 percent.

    Of late, the FMCG sector in rural India has grown at a faster pace than its urban counterpart with FMCG products accounting for about half of total rural spending. Semi-urban and rural segments contribute over 40% of the overall revenues of the FMCG sector in India and with about 12% of the world’s population living in the villages of India, the Indian rural FMCG market is set to be a driving force for the industry at large.

    The FMCG sector is trying to supply to introduce smaller packages of goods that will match the low incomes of rural areas, in order to increase in accessibility even more.

    Some early shoots in the graph were seen in early June when the lock down was eased. 4.5% of the year on year value growth was seen in FMCG sales amidst this.

    However a potential future is seen in the third quarter and significant growth is expected in light of the arrival of the festive season ahead.

    But in long run, one can see FMCG has a potential future. This pandemic opened up the gates even to those who were skeptical before to use e-commerce before but now heavily dependent on them. This may be the next normal.

  • Major Companies that may Go Bankrupt during Coronavirus pandemic

    The coronavirus pandemic has pushed many struggling companies into bankruptcy. Stay-at-home orders have forced many nonessential businesses to close as the demand has fallen massively. The number of bankruptcy filings has risen sharply with little revenue coming in. According to report from American Bankruptcy Institute, bankruptcy filings have risen by 26% from last year.

    COVID-19 has led to disruptions of many industries. The economic slowdown caused by novel coronavirus has forced many startups and SMBs to shut because of the limited resources, revenue, capital and high debt prior to the pandemic. Not only this, many big companies are also gradually being pushed towards the bankruptcy.

    The result is that it has increased layoffs across many industries. Huge number of people have been laid off resulting into unemployment. For the last two months, 36.5 million people have filed for jobless benefits. This all ultimately resulting into economic crisis.

    Unable to cope with the loss, not only startups but many established firms are left with option but file the bankruptcy. The companies filing bankruptcy are mostly from aviation industry i.e. airlines, clothing lines and oil & gas companies. Some of them are big players like Virgin Australia, Neiman Marcus, J.Crew, Diamond Offshore Drilling and Whiting Petroleum.

    Here are some of the major companies dealing with the financial fallout due to COVID-19.

    Diamond Offshore Drilling

    On April 26, the contract drilling services company, Diamond Offshore filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Houston-based company provides contract drilling services to the energy industry around the globe. But it filed bankruptcy due to low oil demand and the price war between OPEC and Russia as it caused its business to decline amid the coronavirus outbreak

    Diamond Offshore has $5.8 billion of assets and debts of more than $2.6Bn. The company filed bankruptcy 10 days after it missed an interest payment on $500Mn worth of bonds and said it was working with advisers on various options for its future. The company also recently drew down $400 million under a revolving credit facility.

    In 2019, Diamond Offshore reported revenue of $981 Mn. The company had employed 2,500 workers at the end of last year. According to company’s statement, Diamond Offshore currently has enough capital about $435 million of cash on hand to continue normal operations as it undergoes restructuring efforts.

    Virgin Australia

    On April 21, Australia’s second-biggest airline Virgin Australia became the world’s largest airline to seek bankruptcy protection since the coronavirus shutdown created a debt crisis. The COVID-19 has affected the travel industry as airlines seek government due to restrictions on travel.

    Virgin Australia was rejected for a 1.4 billion Australian dollar ($897 million) government loan before entering into the Australian equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. However, Virgin Australia was struggling even before the corona crisis.  It has been suffering an annual loss for seven consecutive years.

    The company currently has debt of AU$5 billion ($3.2 billion). On the other hand, more than 10 parties have expressed interest in restructuring the company. Founder of Virgin Group and major shareholder of Virgin Australia, Sir Richard Branson stated that the company would work towards proper steps to make Virgin Australia healthy again.

    Virgin Australia constitutes share of around one-third of Australia’s domestic airline market. The company employs 10,000 people directly and 6,000 people indirectly. If the company ceased operations, its rival Qantas Airways would have a virtual monopoly.

    Frontier Communications

    On April 14, the national phone and the high-speed internet company Frontier Communications initiated its bankruptcy proceedings by filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. The company announced that it was proceeding with the sale of its Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana operations and assets to Northwest Fiber for around $1.35 billion in cash.

    The company made its restructuring plan to reduce its debt by more than $10 billion. It has also received $460 million in debtor-in-possession financing. Frontier has more than $1.1 billion in liquidity including the company’s more than $700 million revenue in cash. Also the DIP financing will help it meet operational needs.

    With this financing, the company plans to continue providing quality service. Frontier has fiber-optic and copper networks in 29 states. The company said it had $8.1 billion in annual revenue in 2019, according to an SEC filing.

    Gold’s Gym

    On May 4, one of the most popular fitness chains Dallas-based Gold’s Gym filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the country’s bankruptcy code. Gold’s Gym plans to permanently close around 30 company-owned gyms but its franchised locations will reopen as coronavirus restrictions are lifted.

    The company said in a statement that the move has been taken in an effort to facilitate the financial restructuring of the company. Due to lockdowns imposed in many countries to contain the spread of COVID-19, gyms are forced to remain shut during this period. Thus, it has become difficult for them to continue their operations.

    The company expects to emerge from bankruptcy by August 1. The company said that has been a complete and total disruption of every one of their business norms. So they needed to take quick, decisive actions to enable them to get back on track. Gold’s Gym was bought in 2004 by TRT Holdings for $158 million.

    bankruptcy due to corona
    Many businesses filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 due to COVID-19

    Intelsat

    On May 13, the satellite operator Intelsat announced that it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company reported almost $15 billion in debt at the end of 2019 and started struggling when it skipped a $125 million interest payment in April. Intelsat had revenue of $2.1 billion at the end of 2019.

    Intelsat provides satellite services to customers in the media and government sectors but because of because of coronavirus crisis, the company saw significant reductions in demand that eventually led to filing of bankruptcy. However, it secured $1 billion in debtor-in-possession financing to help provide liquidity during the restructuring process.

    J.Crew

    On May 4, the New York apparel company J.Crew filed for bankruptcy after struggling with declining sales and huge debt. The retailer had roughly $2.5 billion in annual sales. The company faced low demand as all its locations were forced to close temporarily to contain the spread of Covid-19.

    J.Crew tried to lower some of its debt burden by taking its more successful Madewell brand public. As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, J.Crew’s lenders will convert around $1.65 billion of its debt into equity. The retailer also secured $400 million financing from current lenders in order to continue its operations during its restructuring.

    Also Read: The Impact of Coronavirus On The Insurance Industry

    John Varvatos Enterprises

    Another menswear brand John Varvatos filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 6 as part of an agreement to sell all of its business and assets to British private equity firm Lion Capital. John Varvatos stated that along with the rest of the luxury retail industry, it has been greatly impacted by the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The outbreak has forced the company to temporarily close its stores.

    As part of the sale agreement, Lion Capital will provide debtor-in-possession financing that will help support John Varvatos operations when combined with its projected cash flows. Lion Capital was already an investor in John Varvatos. It had purchased a majority stake in the company in 2012.

    Stage Stores

    On May 10, Stage Stores, which operates department stores under brands such as Gordmans, Bealls and Goody’s, filed for bankruptcy and is now terminating its operations. According to a company statement, it is looking for potential buyers of its business and assets,

    Earlier Stage Stores struggled with competing against large-scale retailers as well as e-commerce sellers. Then, the pandemic burdened the retailer by causing Stage Stores to temporarily close all of its 738 locations. For reconstruction, the retailer is now in the process of beginning to reopen stores to conduct liquidation sales.

    Stage Stores operates the chains in mostly rural areas across 42 states. The company had roughly 13,600 full-time and part-time employees as of February 2019 and reported revenue of $1.58 billion in sales in the last fiscal year.

    True Religion Apparel

    On April 13, True Religion Apparel, an American denim retailer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in less than three years. The company has struggled in recent years with competition from other retailers. With the retail industry hard hit by the coronavirus, True Religion stated that simply could not afford to wait out the financial instability and stay-at-home restrictions.

    ABL and Term Loan are the company’s largest lenders. They are providing more capital to help with its restructuring. True Religion had assets and liabilities ranging from $100 million to $500 million. Until its stores open up, the company plans to continue focusing on its e-commerce sales. True Religion was taken private when it was bought by investment management firm TowerBrook Capital Partners in 2013.

    Ultra Petroleum

    On April 30, the energy company, Ultra Petroleum filed for bankruptcy for the second time and agreed to a balance-sheet restructuring with its creditors. Ultra Petroleum previously entered Chapter 11 proceedings in 2016. Ultra Petroleum has approximately debt of $2 billion as of Dec. 31 and business disruption from the coronavirus has caused the bankruptcy.

    Ultra Petroleum secured financing of up to $25 million through the restructuring agreement and a revolving credit facility with an initial borrowing base of $100 million from lenders. The company said it will be able to eliminate $2 billion in debt. Ultra Petroleum’s operations are primarily focused on natural gas reserves in Wyoming. The company had $742 million in revenue for 2019.

    Whiting Petroleum

    On April 1, the oil and gas company, Whiting Petroleum filed for bankruptcy because of the Saudi-Russia price war and the drop in oil demand driven by the Covid-19 pandemic. Both of these factors contributed to its decision to file for bankruptcy according to Whiting Petroleum.

    The officials said the company plans to convert more than $2.3 billion in senior notes into new equity which would account for 97% of the reorganized company’s ownership. Whiting will also provide payment in full of its revolving credit facility and expects to be out of Chapter 11 proceedings within five months.

    The company said it has $585 million of cash on its balance sheet and will continue normal business operations. Whiting’s business is situated in the Rocky Mountain region of the U.S. It has its largest projects in North Dakota and Colorado. Whiting’s market valuation fell from its peak $15 billion to $32 million in 2011.

    Chesapeake Energy

    The oil and gas company is reportedly preparing a bankruptcy filing after its business took a hit from the Saudi-Russia price war and declining demand for oil amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Oklahoma City-based company was once at the forefront of the U.S. shale boom.

    The company was burdened with $9 billion in debt even before the pandemic and price war. Chesapeake is in talks to secure $1 billion in debtor-in-possession financing that would help it fund operations and is considering skipping a $192 million payment due in August. It also faces a July 1 payment of $136 million.

    Founded in 1989, Chesapeake has operations in five U.S. states, including Pennsylvania, Texas and Louisiana. It employed about 2,300 people as of the end of 2019.

    Hertz

    The car rental company Hertz doubts its ability to continue as a going concern which indicates that it is on verge of bankruptcy. The company’s executives have been trying to postpone the roughly $500 million payment. Yet, it has secured debt restructuring advisers and is preparing for negotiations with creditors over its $17 billion in debt.

    The car rental industry has been affected severely due to coronavirus pandemic. Hertz had laid off 10,000 people amid the crisis, incurring employee termination costs of $30 million. The Estero, Florida-based company is now working with restructuring experts at law firm White & Case and investment bank Moelis & Co. in order to address its debt issues.

    JC Penney

    On May 15, J. C. Penney Company Inc., with its Chapter 11 filing, became the largest retailer in the United States to file for bankruptcy amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Plano, Texas-based company is facing numerous challenges like declining sales and nearly $4 billion in debt. Most of J.C. Penney’s stores have been closed since March 18 because of the coronavirus.

    JC Penney had skipped a $12 million interest payment due on April 15 and a $17 million due on May 7. Upon missing the first payment, the company entered a 30-day grace period “in order to evaluate certain strategic alternatives. J.C. Penney plans  to secure about $450 million to fund its operations in bankruptcy.

    The company operates about 850 stores in the U.S. and employs nearly 90,000 workers. However, the retailer may have to permanently close 200 of these stores as part of its bankruptcy process. Penney saw total net sales for the fourth quarter ended Feb. 1 fall 7.7% to $3.38 billion from last year.

    Also Read: 14 Founders Shared Opinions on how Industry and Customer Behavior will Change after Coronavirus Fight

    Lord & Taylor

    American luxury department store Lord & Taylor is also preparing for bankruptcy and plans to liquidate inventory in its 38 department stores once restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19 are lifted according to reports. The retailer braces for a bankruptcy process and does not expect to survive the bankruptcy process.

    Lord & Taylor, billed as the oldest in the United States, was founded in 1826 and once a major retailer in the U.S. But then it struggled to compete with other rivals such as Macy’s and TJX Companies which operates TJ Maxx and Marshalls. Department stores in general have faced challenges from online retailers and consumers purchasing less apparel.

    Le Tote, owner of Lord & Taylor, owes $23.53 million to Hudson’s Bay Company after buying the retailer from the Canadian department store chain for CA$100 million in 2019. Hudson’s Bay maintained possession of some of Lord & Taylor’s real estate and took on responsibility for its rent payments. The company could use a bankruptcy filing to take some of its leases back from Lord & Taylor.

  • The Role Of Drones In The Upcoming Future

    The COVID-19 pandemic has created a big problem not only for the people but a bigger problem for the government of the respective countries of the world. This pandemic has now led to so many deaths in the whole world and that too due to its wide spread of virus by the physical contact. Now, government of the countries are trying to have the social distance within the society and trying to resolve the problem of group working so that people can work with minimum or without physical contact. On looking in this case, many experts are saying that drones can play a key role by helping people in different ways to prevent further spread of the corona virus outbreak and any other upcoming pandemic in the future. So, let us see the complete report on the role of drones in the upcoming future.

    Role of drones in the working sectors

    1) Drones as a Surveillance device

    Drones as a Surveillance device
    Drones as a Surveillance device

    All the government authorities across the world are trying to prevent the spread of the virus. This can be only possible by reducing the people contact (group of bulk interactions). For this, most of the countries are imposing the ban of mass gatherings in order to ensure a social distancing which can only limit physical contact and can help in the wide spread of such pandemic in the upcoming future.

    Drones can help the police and the security officials to monitor the people’s movement and social gatherings. Police and the security officials will be helped by eliminating such gatherings from the society which will eventually decrease the risk to society.

    Also Read: Robotic Farming- The Upcoming Revolution in the Agriculture Sector

    2) Drones as a Broadcast device

    Police and security authorities can also use drones for any type of broadcast messages and information for any type of measures taken for the betterment of the society like the lockdown or anything else. This can work effectively especially in the rural area where, there is a lack of technology resources and any type of open communication channels for health information or anything related to their betterment. Drones equipped with loudspeakers can be used for making any type of public announcements for any type of necessary precautions or for making social-distancing or even for wearing the mask if found outside the home. Let us make you know that the countries like China and many European countries are using drones for broadcasting messages to public while doing surveillance.

    Also Read: Computerized Medicine and how it will change India

    3) Drones as a Medicine and Grocery Deliveries device

    Drones as a Medicine and Grocery Deliveries device
    Drones as a Medicine and Grocery Deliveries device

    During this pandemic, we have seen the global lock-down in the whole world. The people are not even allowed to move outside even for the shopping of the daily utility materials. People are having fear in having any type of medical help. So, in this case drones can help in the delivery of any essential good without any physical contact or it can help in taking up the samples for any type of test required by anyone in the society.

    Also Read: Impact On The E-Commerce Due To Global Lockdown

    Not only this, doctors and hospitals will be helped in any type of medical supplies and laboratory testing and also drones can be the safest and fastest ways to deliver medical supplies and transport samples from hospitals to laboratories. One of the live example was seen in Wuhan, the epicenter of the pandemic, where drones were used to deliver medical supplies in the hospital.

  • The Impact of Lockdown Extension on Electric Vehicle(EV) Market

    Since March 24, 2020, the novel coronavirus pandemic has put brakes on India’s manufacturing industries due to the 21-days complete lockdown across the nation. The coronavirus outbreak is having an unanticipated impact on every sector due to disruption in the supply chain and production. Many sectors like Electric Vehicle(EV) Market had planned things once the lockdown would be over.

    This week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the extension of lockdown till May 3, 2020. As the extension was announced, things have begun to look sceptical for various companies across industries. Due to lockdown, the manufacturing and mobility services economy has collapsed but there is still a ray of hope for the electric vehicle market in India. EV market is less impacted since the EVs do not have a large audience as compared to the traditional auto industry in India but still it’s going to affect this sector.

    The lockdown has forced the people to avoid travel which has consequently hampered people’s appetite for new purchases. Especially costly ones such as a new car. This has resulted into great loss in electric vehicle industry. This impact is going to last for months even after the virus is contained.

    At the same time, due to the extension of lockdown, the electric vehicle owners might expect service issues post lockdown and might even have to arrange the charge and discharge of their vehicles. The same goes for petrol and diesel vehicles as well for their lead-acid starter batteries. So, the problems will be on both ends.

    At the same time, due to the extension of lockdown, the electric vehicle owners also might expect service issues post lockdown and might even have to arrange the charge and discharge of their vehicles themselves. The same goes for traditional petrol and diesel vehicles as well for their lead-acid starter batteries. Many industry experts suggested that the government should use this extended lockdown period to create an exit plan.

    SMEV says Lockdown Extension is the Right Move

    Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) – the registered association representing Indian manufacturers of electric vehicle & its components, said that extension of the lockdown is the right move taken by government. Yet, there will be certainly an adverse impact on the operations of its members for the next 1-2 months.

    SMEV Director General – Sohinder Gill describing the situation as a testing time for the whole EV industry. He also said that it is also time for its members to conserve cash, take care of workmen and utilise this time to plan ahead once the lockdown is over. Even though extension of lockdown is going to affect EV market and startups, Gill has expressed confidence that the EV industry will be able to spring back into action to recover the losses due to this shutdown.

    Sohinder Gill said in a statement, “Looking at the current situation in the country, the extension of the lockdown is the right move. Though there will be certainly an adverse impact on the operations for the next 1-2 months, I believe that we will be able to save lives of thousands and emerge as a healthier nation. I appeal to all the stakeholders in EV companies to conserve cash, take care of our workmen and utilize this time to plan ahead.”

    Most of the Indian electric vehicle (EV) industries are dependent on China for import of cells, battery and other electronic components and sensors used in electric vehicles.The EV companies & startups had initially started feeling the heat when coronavirus broke out in China and they faced component shortages. Now China is reportedly getting back into action, but manufacturing in India is still under lockdown.

    What Experts have to Say about this?

    Co-founder, CEO, Ather Energy – Tarun Mehta, “The lockdown has certainly disrupted the local supply chains and manufacturing. While demand will come down across all categories, EVs have a smaller audience in India and the impact may be lower than conventional automobile industry. The products and manufacturing aside, financing options for consumers will take precedence to enable new sales in the coming months.”

    Recently, research firm Wood Mackenzie has released a report where it predicted a 43 % contraction in the global EV industry by the end of 2020. The EV sector had just building up some serious momentum but the crisis couldn’t have come at a worse time. The big hope now is that government plans will continue to push for more electrification of the transportation sector. According to sources, sales of electric vehicles in 2019 had topped with 2.2 million sales but now this number is expected to drop by 43% to 1.3 million by the end of 2020.

    Vikrant K Aggarwal, director at EVI Technologies, also said that the entire auto sector is currently witnessing a 10% slowdown in sales. It has affected the electric vehicle industry the most as its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is bound to suffer due to slow down in new bookings. Since the market size of electric vehicle in India is very small and thus just 1% of the total motorized vehicles run in India. Hence, EVs sector’s growth require constant nurturing.

    Sharing the ground reality of the industry, managing director at Magenta Power – Maxson Lewis said that the demand for electric vehicles is linked to overall auto demand which has been and will continue to be impacted for months. This will push the electric vehicle business investments plans out by months. Further, Lewis said that possibly this extended lockdown could also mean that traditional auto may look towards electric vehicles as the reset plan.

    Also Read: 12 Founders Shared Opinions on Strategies to Fight with Situation if the Lockdown Continues

    Impact on EV Sector of Other Countries

    The effect of the outbreak on the world’s biggest EV market -China, are already visible. Electric car sales there fell by 54% by the end of January when the epidemic really took off in the country. February sales figures are expected to be even worse, with a decline of 90%. EV sales in Europe was really an impressive that increased up by 121% on the year in January. Then, due to coronavirus outbreak, it put brakes on this.

    Electric Vehicles may rise in demand after COVI-19
    People might turn to EVs after the Pandemic

    By now, it should be clear to everyone that the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic is killing both the energy and transportation industries all over the world. Now, three months after the COVID-19 originated, China is slowly restarting its economy despite a second wave of infections knocking on its door. Europe, the second biggest market for electric cars, is in the impact of the coronavirus and the countries are seeking ways to restore their economies.

    Several Governments are Taking Efforts

    Many governments across the globe have already devised plans to grow the EV market once the pandemic is under control. The electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) market is predicted to witness a 10.7% CAGR during the forecast period 2020-2025 to see an increase in its revenue from $1.5 billion in 2019 to $2.7 billion in 2025.

    Apart from this, the global market is being positively impacted by the increasing sale of electric vehicles. The investments by manufacturers have increased in last 4-5 years and government support for installing such charging stations has also increased. EV battery costs are expected to be nearly halved by 2025. There are several factors that have contributed to this growth and many EV players believe that these factors will eventually lead to the exponential growth of electric vehicles.

    The government of several countries are taking efforts to install EV charging stations. For instance, the South Korean government has targeted the deployment of 10,000 fast chargers by 2022. Similarly, India has plans to install 2,700 charging stations by 2023, in cities with more than 4 million residents. In the same the same way, Canada sanctioned $4.6 million for the installation of 92 DC chargers, while the Californian government has proposed a funding of $900 million for the deployment of 250,000 charging points by 2025.

    Also Read: How Different Sectors will Resume their Operations after Lockdown?

    At present, India is still in the early stages of adoption. According to a report, the electric vehicle adoption rate is less than 1%. However, over the last two years, there has been a significant development in the electric vehicle space in India with both two-wheeler and four-wheeler launches. The government’s target of 30% electric vehicle adoption by 2030 is projected to be powered primarily by electrification of two-wheeler, three-wheeler, and commercial vehicles in India.

  • How Different Sectors will Resume their Operations after Lockdown?

    Since March 24, India is under a 21-day lockdown till April 14(which is likely to be extended till April 30) to contain the spread of Coronavirus. During this lockdown, only shops providing essentials and medicals are allowed to remain opened. Apart from these, all the businesses, firms and shops cannot remain opened. But once this lockdown is lifted, all the businesses can resume their operations. Yet, there is a plan rather directives to be followed by all while resuming the operations.

    Not surprising, this 21-day coronavirus lockdown has badly hurt India’s economy. Usually, India’s daily GDP stands at $8 billion. The 21-day lockdown will cause around $168 billion loss which is expected to increase if the lockdown continues for more days. A 30-day lockdown will cause around $250 billion loss which will be very tough to recover. Now everyone is looking at how the Modi government plans to normalise it after April 14.

    To strategise a proper exit plan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has formed Prime Minister’s 11 empowered committees. The committees are headed by the home secretary and continuously seeking feedback and assessments. The committee comprises officials from almost every department like railways, civil aviation, pharmaceutical, commerce, health, DEPT officials and representatives from businesses.

    Indicating a phased lifting of the lockdown, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked Union ministers to prepare a “graded plan” to slowly open departments in non-hotspots of the COVID-19. This means businesses in hotspots might have to wait more. He also asked the ministers to lift the restrictions sector-wise or district-wise.

    “It is important to formulate a common exit strategy to ensure a safe re-emergence of the population once the lockdown ends,” the PM said in a interaction with state chief ministers, asking them to send their suggestions for such an exit strategy.

    Besides, the central government has also sought feedback from states. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with chief ministers via videoconferencing and asked them to submit suggestions as per the situation in their respective states for a staggered exit after lifting of lockdown.

    Resumption of Airlines

    Since India is under 21-day lockdown, all domestic and international commercial passenger flights have been suspended for this time period. However, cargo flights, medical evacuation flights, offshore helicopter operations and flights specially permitted by the aviation regulator DGCA can operate during this time period. Thus, startups in aviation sector have suffered a great loss.

    Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that resumption of international flights will be considered on a case-by-case basis after India’s lockdown ends. It also will depend on which countries they are coming from. There are some directives which all airlines need to follow after resumption.

    It will be mandatory to keep the middle seat empty to ensure social distancing inside the aircraft. Also the last three rows will have to be kept empty in order to isolate a passenger if he or she develops symptoms mid-air. Airlines will also be asked to minimise on-board services in order to prevent close contact between cabin crew and passengers. Pre-packaged dry foods will be kept in passenger seats prior to boarding, while airlines may also encourage flyers to carry their own food. Airports will have to ensure two-metre distancing during check-in and security check.

    Not all trains will be running

    Similarly, Railway Board has said that they are not looking in terms of revenue generation for now as these are sensitive times. The focus is on passenger safety and to ensure that the disease does not spread. Trains will run soon, once the government gives the green signal. The railways officials said they are also identifying trains and routes which can be resumed with the approval of the board.

    The trains on routes catering to migrant workers can be resumed initially and also those that are not travelling or that have halts at COVID-19 hotspots. But some rules will need to be followed by passengers. For instance, a measure will include that people need to maintain distance at ticket counters as well as boarding the train to maintain social distancing.

    Also Read: What will be the Scenario after Coronavirus Outbreak?

    Logistics will be Issue for Manufacturing Industry

    The domestic manufacturing industry is also preparing to resume operations when the nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus disease ends. After the lockdown is over, firms will be focusing on bringing production back to the pre-lockdown levels, which is not going to be that easy. All leading electronics players like Samsung, LG, Xiaomi, Godrej, Panasonic, Blue Star, etc. are holding virtual meetings with stakeholders and government officials to chalk out a resumption plan, which is being monitored by an empowered group of ministers (EGM).

    Even after lockdown, availability of truckers for customers to unload material will be a big issue. Most electronic industry players also raised the issue of logistics since sourcing raw materials is no longer a concern as production units in China have already surpassed 70% capacity but fast-track shipping of goods will be an issue as there will be some restrictions on transport.

    Plans after Lockdown
    Proper plans will have to be devised after Lockdown

    Resumptions for Startups will not be Easy

    Startups in fast-growing consumer categories such as fashion, beauty and furniture, electronics are struggling with a very low demand because of the ongoing nationwide lockdown. With the lockdown being ordered throughout the country, production, delivery, sales, marketing and at the end earnings are highly affected as people are not allowed to move out of their houses.

    Similarly, the 21-day lockdown by the government to contain the outbreak of novel coronavirus has upset the supply chains of e-commerce and other startups that are slowly starting to resume normal business. Only essential products such as groceries and medicines are currently being sold on most platforms.

    As a result, even the two biggest online retailers Flipkart and Amazon India are likely to see a drop in sales this quarter because of weak demand for mobile phones, electronics and fashion, the three categories that make up a majority of their business. Both have temporarily halted sales of all consumer goods other than essential items as directed by government.

    Yet, the coronavirus pandemic could speed up a market in fintech sector. Some research indicates that more people are using online financial services, including banking apps and stock-trading apps during lockdowns. Even governments are also asking people to go for contactless payment. According to reports, fintech apps saw a 72% spike in usage in the final week of March. These included PayPal, UK neo-bank Monzo, and Barclays’ mobile app. Stock-trading apps Robinhood and Acorns also saw download spikes in the US.

    Once the lockdown is lifted and normalcy returns, many startups will have to examine how they will work. They will have to pay serious attention to renting an office in a coworking space because such an office is virtually immune to the impact of a pandemic causing lockdown and it helps save rent costs. Many governments are helping the startups in their countries with relief packages.

    The US Government recently announced a $2 trillion relief package for its citizens and businesses who have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. This includes a $350 million in loans and other assistance for the small businesses of the country. The UK also announced a £3 billion per month package for Britain’s 3.8 million startups and SMEs. But Indian government hasn’t announced any plans yet but it is expected from government to render some financial help to startups once the lockdown ends.

    Also Read: What New Innovations will Come after COVID-19 Pandemic?

    Conclusion

    Every crisis brings with it some unseen opportunities. Every crisis also tests the limits of our resilience. The current lockdown is not the last; there might be others in the future. While India’s startups are still only a small yet important portion of the larger economy. Thus, many lessons can be learnt from this lockdown.

    In future, startups will have have to take into account the fact that their business may be adversely affected by such lockdowns. Importantly, COVID-19, in addition to this, will bring novel changes in businesses & lifestyle and create behavioural changes that will have a lasting effect on our lives.

  • How Startups are Building Products to fight COVID-19?

    The number of coronavirus cases has been rising steadily every day not only in India but whole worldwide. The state governments across the country are taking important measures to control the spread of the virus. With the globalized world going into partial or complete lock down over the Covid-19 pandemic, startups in the various sectors are facing a huge stress test and immediate disruption to business as people are encouraged or even forced not to travel. Now much of Indian startup ecosystem has just started to realise the gravity of the coronavirus pandemic as the country goes into lockdown.

    Starting as a group of nearly 70 entrepreneurs and investors who had written to the government last week, the “Founders vs Covid-19” group has now become a 600-member crew which includes stakeholders from the healthcare sector, technology industry, the social sector and government. The collective has now transitioned into “Startups vs Covid-19” and is now fighting the coronavirus battle across multiple fronts. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced the “COVID-19 Solution Challenge” to encourage the startups in India to find solution to fight the virus by proposing ideas.

    Many entrepreneurs and startups across the world have focused on developing solution to contain the spread of virus. Designers, engineers and programmers are also trying to scale testing through telemedicine, building multistage testing procedures, scaling the manufacturing of test kits and the healthcare infrastructure. It has also built various applications, such as a portal for citizens to report symptoms and a heatmap of the infection based on symptoms reported by doctors.

    Startups are helping fight Covid-19 by building Products
    Many startups are being encouraged to build Products to fight COVID-19

    So here are some products developed across the world to cope with novel coronavirus-

    Fever-finding Smart Helmet

    The Shenzhen-based Chinese tech firm KC Wearable is also trying to increase testing through telemedicine, building multistage testing procedures, scaling the manufacturing of test kits and the healthcare infrastructure. Further, the group also planning for the path ahead which includes planning for Stage 3 of the pandemic or community transmission. The company has developed a smart helmet that can detect people with a fever up to five metres away and indicates with sounding an alarm when anyone with a high temperature comes close.

    The headset, which is already used by police in many cities of China including Shenzhen, Shanghai, etc. It also features an infrared temperature detector, an augmented-reality visor, a camera that can read QR codes, plus wifi, Bluetooth and 5G so it can beam data to the nearest hospital. Equipped with facial recognition technology, the helmet can also display the subject’s name on the AR visor, as well as their medical history. According to the developer, it would only take officers two minutes to scan a queue of more than 100 people with the help of the helmets, while one big hospital would only need 10 such helmets to cover every corner of its site.

    3D-printed Ventilator Valves

    An Italian startup came to the rescue after a hospital ran out of crucial valves that connect oxygen masks to respirators for its ventilators. The hospital in Chiari, in northern Italy hit hard by the virus, had 250 coronavirus patients in intensive care, and was short of venturi valves – which connect the ventilator to a patient’s face mask, and need to be replaced for each patient.

    After the original supplier was unable to provide new valves quickly enough, the hospital put out a call for help. Isinnova contacted the manufacturer, Intersurgical, but was unable to obtain a digital model of the part, so its team decided to reverse-engineer its structure themselves. The first prototype was ready within six hours, with 100 working valves printed and supplied to the hospital within a day.

    Also Read: How Entrepreneurs are Helping to Fight COVID-19?

    Hands-free Door Opener

    Door handles are said to be among the most contagious places in a building or house. Thus, it is advised to refrain from touching the door handles. Belgian 3D printing company Materialise has designed a hands-free door handle attachment under the slogan “Do less harm, use your arm!”. The design, which has been made available to download for free, consists of two simple parts that can be screwed either side of a handle, allowing you to use your arm or elbow to turn the handle.

    UV-sanitising Robots

    A Danish company developed a sterilising robot looking like a cluster of light swords on wheels. It can kill virus cells and sanitise hospital wards without the need for chemicals. The eight bulbs on each roaming robot emit concentrated UV-C ultraviolet light which destroys bacteria, viruses and other harmful microbes by damaging their DNA and RNA so they can’t multiply.

    The robot was launched in early 2019, following six years of collaboration between parent firm, Blue Ocean Robotics and Odense University Hospital. But recent demand has seen boom in production. A similar device has been developed by Chinese firm YouiBot, which took its existing robot base and added thermal camera and UV-C bulbs for disinfection. It has supplied factories, offices and an airport, and a hospital in Wuhan. This helps reduce dependency on chemical-based disinfectants which require rooms to be left empty for several hours during sterilisation,

    3D-printed isolation wards

    Chinese company Winsun has deployed its rapid 3D-printing technology for manufacturing 15 coronavirus isolation wards in a single day. Those little cabins were originally designed to be used as holiday homes but seeing the demand from overcrowded Chinese hospitals to cope with Covid-19 pandemic, the company increased production the wards.

    The company says it uses recycled construction material in the process and claims its structures are twice as strong as a conventional concrete construction. The buildings, which have showers and eco-toilets, were printed with a robotic arm mounted on rails, gradually depositing layers of concrete to build the walls.

    Corona 100m App

    Coders have joined the battle against coronavirus, racing to develop apps. In South Korea, virus-tracking apps make up six of the most popular 15 downloaded apps, by far the most popular being Corona 100m. Using the wealth of data collected by the government’s testing programme, the app alerts users when they come within 100 metres of a location visited by an infected person. This app is one of the most crucial things developed to fight Covid-19. It needs to be used in India also.

    3D-printed face shield

    Czech company Prusa, which claims to have the largest 3D printing farm in the world, with more than 500 printers, has started mass-producing protective face shields used by medics. It is manufacturing over 800 a day and has donated 10,000 to the Czech ministry of health. Another firm, Stratasys, has also developed a 3D-printed face shield and masks. According to its CEO, Yoav Zeif: “The strengths of 3D printing, be anywhere, print virtually anything, adapt on the fly, make it capable for helping address shortages of parts related to shields, masks, and ventilators, among other things.”

    Virus-fighting Drones

    No one needs to mention the need of drones from preventing people from stepping out of their houses. Many governments have started using drones to keep watch but these drones have been modified with more features to fight the coronavirus. The world leader in drone manufacturing, China has used the mini choppers(drones) for everything from fever detection in crowds to disinfecting public spaces, to delivering supplies to remote locations. Drones have also been used to deliver test samples, dramatically cutting journey times.

    In France, the police have started using drones to help enforce its lockdown, monitoring parks and public spaces to make sure people are not leaving their homes for non-essential trips, while, in the UK, Northamptonshire police are planning to increase the use of drones, which will be equipped with speakers to transmit public information messages and tell people to get back indoors. In India too, a Tamil Nadu startup is helping government to disinfect roads & hospitals with drones.

    Also Read: What will be the Scenario after Coronavirus Outbreak?

    Robots at Kerala’s Airports

    Kerala Health Minister Shailaja KK has proved to be a strong pillar of strength and support in the time of COVID-19 crisis. Kerala’s Asimov Robotics has developed two robots that are to be stationed in the airports. While one robot distributes sanitisers, masks, and napkins to the people, the other robot streams World Health Organisation’s (WHO) campaign videos and also briefs people about social distancing and other steps to be taken to prevent the spread of the virus.