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Tag: Covid-19

  • Survival Tips for Startups during Lockdown

    Today almost every country in the world is under lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic to contain the coronavirus outbreak. Small businesses, startups & entrepreneurs are wondering how to survive lockdown. On one hand, you want to keep the operations going as long as possible but on the other hand, the health of yourself and your workforce is the top priority. There are survival tips that must be followed to protect your company to avoid closure of business.

    The business has surely been slow since the last few months and with the coronavirus pandemic rapidly spreading around the world, the economies are falling down drastically. Now, as over a Billion Indians are under lockdown due to the novel Coronavirus. It has created many hurdles for many established business, startups and their employees to survive in markets.

    Humankind has never witnessed anything like this before. Companies are complaining about stranded supplies and non-uniform implementation of orders by law-enforcing authorities. In addition to this; the ever-changing government rules and notifications that are putting restrictions on transport, gatherings, etc.

    Due to COVID-19, there is a huge cloud of uncertainty and darkness but as an entrepreneur needs to deal smartly with the circumstances and understand what can be done differently to get over this crisis. Many are looking for business survival tips in lockdown.

    While people are locked inside their houses for safety concerns,many major companies have adopted new ways to operate like asking employees to work-from-home, safely shutting down facilities, etc. As the markets have witnessed record falls, it is more difficult for startups to survive in this situation. So here are some strategies to help startups survive during lockdown.

    Be Open and Honest with your Customers

    Right now we are all facing uncertainty, may it be self-employed, business owners, stay-at-home parents or working a full-time job. It is important to keep our relationship with existing clients alive. Empathize because they are as badly hit as we are. So be honest with your customers and tell them what actions your business is taking.

    Experts say, company’s website must be designed well as many customers can visit it during lockdown. Adding an FAQ section to your website is the easiest way to give your customers the info they need. Consider creating a pipeline of business through digital outreach. It is necessary to connect with older customers.

    Work from Home Efficiently

    Working from home is not a new strategy anymore but how to work efficiently from home is the question before many employees. In almost all affected countries, the advice is to work from home if you possibly can. According to a research, 86% of people feel less stressed working remotely.

    To work efficiently, employees need to use the right kind of tools. Thus, startups must ask their employees to use video conferencing tools like Zoom, Google Meet, Skype, Slack, etc. Apart from this, one must ask employees to maintain strict hygiene while working remotely also. One must ask teams to have regular communication to inform about progress and updates.

    Manage the Expenses

    At this point, the only thing startups should focus on is staying afloat and come out of this situation diligently. This can only be done by managing the expenses in a proper way. Question every expense, get rid of everything that is not important, re-negotiate agreements with suppliers, take a hard look at team costs, chase every single receivable, and do not sell without advances. In times like this, the single focus is to keep the business afloat at all costs, which may need founders to be very careful.

    Find out what Help Government is offering

    Many governments across the world, are just putting measures to fight COVID-19 but they are also rendering financial help to startups and SMEs to restore falling economy. For instance, the UK has announced plans to offer various grants, loan schemes, reduced business rates, and statutory sick pay relief for SMEs.

    The US Government recently announced a $2 trillion relief package for its citizens and businesses, impacted by Covid-19 pandemic. New Zealand’s measures include wage subsidies for small businesses. So, it’s your responsibility as entrepreneur to keep yourself updated with any such help offered. It is advised to check your local city or state website to find out what steps officials are taking or what is available in your area.

    Related: 9 Founders Shared their tips on Surviving Coronavirus Outbreak

    Update your Google My Business page

    If you haven’t got one yet, it is advisable to claim your Google My Business listing now. It’s free and it will help customers find your business online. If you already have Google My Business page, log in to your account and you’ll see a new option on the homepage called “Coronavirus (COVID-19) ” option that has been added recently.

    By following the link, you will reach a page where one can make suggested changes to their business information. There one can update their business hours, adding extra services they are offering to customers or their local community or informing them about delays to normal service and so on.

    startup during lockdown startuptalky
    It is necessary to communicate with Suppliers and devise plans accordingly

    Move your Sales to Online Shop

    Now, selling your products one-to-one is impossible due to lockdown but selling online is still an option. Selling online has never been easier and now is the perfect time to start an online shop to earn extra revenue. Depending on your country, postal services and couriers might still be running, otherwise, lots of companies are starting to offer “doorstep deliveries.”

    It is totally safe as the business owner drops the parcel on the doorstep and the customer collects it from there, so there’s no contact involved. This is also a great way to help the people in your community get the goods they need. This may help the operations keep going due to continuous cashflow.

    Keep in touch with your Suppliers

    Because of restrictions on transport and meetings, there might be interruptions in the supplies you need to make your products or do your job, depending on your line of work. Knowing this ahead of time and keeping track of inventory can help you prepare and set realistic expectations for your customers.

    You can ask the suppliers or vendors how long it will take them to deliver the goods. If it’s going to take you longer to fulfil orders than usual, your customers will be more understanding if you let them know in advance.

    Looking at the current scenario, stabilization of inventory and logistics may not be achieved immediately. But businesses should then turn their attention to pre-booking rail and air freight capacity and using after-sales stock ensuring continuity in their supply chain network.

    Take Tough calls

    According to experts, the need of the hour is to make a impartial analysis of the current state or position of your startup and take tough calls based on that even if it means merging your startup with another venture. Sooner or later, startups will come face to face with the reality-survive at any cost.

    To take such calls, entrepreneurs would require support and help to think clearly. A few other options, that founders can explore, are holding on a favourite project or letting go of a resource that might be valuable but not affordable at this hour.

    Have Patience

    During this tough time, having patience until things restore back is really essential. For this, a team has a valuable role to play. A Team should be strength, motivating and bonding the team is important. A leader must share the situation so that the team can support and help. Sharing the problems can give hope and might find you a solution to deal with the situation.

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

    Conclusion

    Each new learning becomes a rule, and each failed attempt becomes new learning. In the matter of just a week, India went from a do-not-panic state to a state of complete lockdown.  So during such testing times, there are several financial and legal aspects that all businesses should bear in mind to lower risks and cut down on their losses. By adopting the appropriate strategies, any business can survive this lockdown. And remember it is a matter of time!

  • The Rise Of Digital Contactless Payments Post The COVID-19 Pandemic

    The fast spread of the novel coronavirus has led to a global lockdown hitherto unfathomed. The on-going situation has now become one of the biggest threats to economies and financial markets all over the world, and is leading us towards a global recession. The spread of the coronavirus has impacted the purchasing power of people. We are apprehensive of exchanging traditional currency i.e. notes and coins, to minimize contact. In such a situation, digital contactless payments are gathering a new found attention in these times. Also, countries across the globe are taking numerous measures to maximize digital contactless flow of currency. The culture of digital contactless payments is only going to expand as time passes. This article covers the rise of digital contactless payments post the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Status of Digital Contactless Payment

    Digital Contactless Payments

    The COVID-19 pandemic stopped almost all possible transactions in the beginning. But over the last couple of months, digital payments have picked pace. People are now resorting to digital payments for purchasing all kinds of utilities. Many merchants have witnessed a significant rise in digital contactless payments across different modes. Statistics point towards a rise of around 30% in the role of digital transactions in revenue generation. Several reports attest to this. According to a report from Statista which talks about the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and its consequent lockdown on Indians, a majority of respondents reported no or very less change in their use of digital payments. However, 33 percent said they used digital payments more than before, while nine percent made online payments exclusively.

    Different modes of Digital Contactless Payment

    The different digital payment modes that one can opt for in the current circumstance include:

    Different modes of Digital Contactless Payment

    1. QR Code

    QR code or Quick Response Code-based payment is a modern payment system that has become pretty popular during the period of COVID-19 pandemic. People can simply scan a QR code with the help of their smartphone to pay for items like fuel, grocery, utility bills, fuel, food, travel and several other services. QR codes facilitate instant payments and that too using fool-proof security payment technology. Whenever a customer requests to pay via the QR code, he or she needs to just scan the QR code of the respective merchant. This scanning helps in automatic entry of the merchant’s details and leaves you with only having to type the purchase amount. After this, you are ready for the payment. Just click on the secure payment tab and watch the transaction happen in a jiffy.

    2. UPI

    Unified Payments Interface (UPI), developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), is an instant payment system which relies on your bank account. Whenever a customer requests the UPI payment mode for transacting, the merchant provides his or her unique UPI ID. After this, the customer needs to enter the UPI details of the merchant. The customer can also verify the details displayed on the payment portal.  The customer is then ready for making the payment. Just click on the secure payment tab and it’s done! This is also linked with the QR code of the merchant.

    Also Read: Everything You Need to Know About Unified Payments Interface

    3. Payment Gateway

    Payment gateway is a merchant service provided by different e-commerce platforms and ensures that sensitive information (such as credit card details) passes securely through various channels when entered into a virtual terminal or an e-commerce website . At present, e-commerce establishments are strongly focusing on payment gateways as they refrain from entertaining cash-on-delivery payment orders.

    Also Read: Best Payment Gateways in India for Your Business

    4. NFC Payment

    The Near Field Communication (NFC) feature is a new technology in the e-payment sector that allows you to make contactless payments to retailers. Customers can choose to pay via their contactless credit/debit cards or through a Tap & Pay feature provided by banks via a mobile application; you simply tap on your smartphones.

    5. Prepaid cards

    Closed-loop prepaid cards are the ones that can only be redeemed at the merchant who issued them. On the other hand, “semi-closed loop cards” or “restricted open-loop cards” are similar to shopping centre cards which can be redeemed at various merchants but only within the shopping centre. These cards can be swiped/inserted at the PoS terminal for top-up/withdrawal purposes. You need to enter your pin for completing the payment. This is done for security measures.

  • The Future of Autonomous Vehicles Post Pandemic

    COVID-19 pandemic has created a big problem in front of us. The people are having a great fear from this pandemic. This has led a situation where everyone is thinking about an autonomous facilities in place of human resource facilities. It situation has also marked a great moment for the autonomous vehicle (AV) technology. Although the pandemic has created a long-term impact on the human living conditions and this will accelerate AV innovation in the life of all people. Many experts says that AVs will prove itself and especially useful during future emergencies and outbreaks like the COVID-19 pandemic. Let us see the complete report on the future of autonomous vehicles post pandemic.

    Autonomous Vehicles during pandemic

    Autonomous Vehicles

    Like COVID-19 pandemic, AVs will be the ultimate resource for the upcoming future outbreaks, AVs will provide a useful means of transporting passengers to healthcare facilities, pharmacies and grocery stores. This will also help in maintaining sterilization and leveraging inside-vehicle technology to monitor passengers’ vital signs on the go.

    The AVs are having some of the most valuable use cases like supplementing labour shortages in transportation, food delivery, and additional industries. It can also help in the situation where, there is any problem from the side of the drivers and delivery workers which are showing up to work sick as companies scramble to keep pace with the upcoming high delivery demand.

    The efficient working of AVs can be seen at the time of crisis. In China, it can be clearly seen the use of autonomous vehicles for delivering the medical and food supplies in the hard-hit areas.

    With autonomous big delivery vehicles, businesses can achieve more efficient service with the less no. of human work force. This will ultimately help in boosting the productivity of the business and helps in keeping businesses running during any type of pandemic or any type of challenging economic times.

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

    Autonomous Vehicles v/s Present Time Vehicles

    From the latest surveys, it has been seen that, there is a large no. of miss-happening on the roads with the large number of deaths and massive expenses to the automobile due to human error.

    There are two different types of mind set of the experts talking about this upcoming technology. Many experts believe that fully autonomous vehicles will be taking a long period of time to be functioned at a good amount of scale and this technology might never be capable of fully replacing human drivers. On the other hand, many other technology experts are in the favor of a fast and destructive change in the automobile sector in the upcoming few years post pandemic.

    According to a latest survey, in 2020 found that around 38% of people enjoyed driving “a good deal,” while another 46% enjoyed it “a moderate amount.” This survey comes up with the result i.e. considerable affinity for having control over vehicles, and it’s not unreasonable to think that a hypothetical legislative push to have human drivers completely relinquish the steering wheel would be met with resistance.

  • How Covid-19 can Affect the CoWorking Industry in India

    This is a guest article by Ms. Anita Sharma who used to dabble with acids and alkali, Yes a a chemistry grad! Now, she help companies market themselves on the internet with her marketing skills. She runs an digital marketing agency, Searchmetry in Kolkata.

    Covid-19, which has shaken the whole world has brought all countries at halt. This highly contagious disease is spreading so fast that Indian Government has ordered 1.3 billion residents to stay home. Initially government declared lockdown of 21 days on 24th March,2020 and then extended lockdown more for two times. In this lockdown period, all malls, theaters, companies, shops, restaurants, manufacturing units are shut. This will affect businesses and economy badly.

    Covid-19 has proved to be the black swan event of black swan events. With entire countries under complete lockdown, healthcare systems on the brink of collapse, and a cure and/or a vaccine nowhere in sight, the engines of industry have ground to a complete halt in every country, India included. Every person has questions regarding after lockdown effects on industry, people, lifestyle.

    Many questions are there for coworking industry too like

    • Will covid-19 be a nail in the coffin of the coworking industry in India?
    • Or will it actually push more people towards coworking?
    • Will the sector be permanently affected? For better or for worse?
    • How will this affect the coworking industry in India?
    • Will there be a permanent effect on the industry?
    • Or will things return to pre-covid conditions once the pandemic is brought under control?
    • If there is a permanent effect, will it be positive, or negative?

    Let’s take a look.

    The idea behind a coworking space

    Every company is different. Their requirements, and their way of working is different.

    However, most workspaces share infrastructural requirements, like:

    • A good internet connection.
    • Phone lines.
    • A stable electric supply.
    • A conference room.
    • Amenities like washroom, basic snacks and beverages, and so on.

    There are two issues with an individual company arranging these for itself:

    • It’s not the core function of the company; the time invested in arranging them could have been used more productively.
    • Some of the facilities, like the conference room, will not be constantly used by the company, leading to excess capacity.

    Enter the co-working concept

    Enter a company whose core function is to acquire spaces, convert them into workspaces (by appropriate interior design, arranging for the infrastructure, etc), and offer other companies access to this working space.

    The issue of spare capacity is addressed by devising a shared access mechanism; in other words, companies A and B both use the same conference room, at different times.

    Remember this ‘shared access’ concept – we will return to it in a while.

    Also read: All You Need to Know about CoWorking Spaces in India

    The Financial Model

    • Typically, the space acquisition will have to be done long term; in other words, to build a viable coworking business, lease/rent agreements have to be long term.
    • Some staffing – especially in the fields of maintenance, logistics, and so on – would also have to be hired on a salaried basis.
    • On the other hand, companies who want to rent desks or rooms will look for flexible arrangements, to fit their financial situation.

    This means that there will almost inevitably be a mismatch between the spending and revenue of a coworking company – long term, fixed costs will have to be funded with volatile short term cash inflow.

    How does covid-19 affect this, in general?

    Covid-19 can have a number of effects on this business model:

    The lockdown

    Typically, coworking spaces would be found in financial districts, within metropolitan areas. Typically, these also have been found to be ‘hotspots’ where the virus has been spreading more, which means they would be the last to emerge from lockdowns.

    Availability of staff

    With different places having different levels of lockdowns, maintenance and other staff may not be able to turn up for work at full strength for some time.

    Work from home

    A lot of people are adjusting to working from home. It could become a new normal.

    Since neither a drug nor a vaccine for the virus seem to be within reach right now, even after lockdowns are eased, people might prefer to work from home, and business would largely agree, since that minimizes the risk of workers infecting each other in the workplace.

    That would have a material impact on the coworking business model.

    ‘Hot’ would become cold

    Remember one of the features of coworking is shared access.

    • In many coworking spaces, this not only extends to larger facilities such as conference rooms, but also to basic facilities such as desks.
    • In other words, one business may hire a desk from 9am to 1pm; then another company can hire that same desk from 1:15pm to 4pm.
    • Such assets are called ‘hot’ assets. Typically, they yield a higher return for the coworking company. ‘Hot assets’ enable a coworking company to scale up in the sense that a single asset can bring in multiple payments from multiple users within 1 day.

    However, with the social distancing norms in effect, business and people would be averse to using such facilities.

    The pre-covid19 outlook of the coworking sector in India

    Till early 2020, the coworking industry in India was booming.

    Both foreign companies (like WeWork and Regus) and domestic ones (like Awfis and Cowrks) were setting up shop, and competing with each other to snap up work spaces and acquire clients.

    There was some churning in the industry, leading to a number of mergers and acquisitions but that was attributable to some purse-tightening by investors in light of the WeWork debacle, and did not pose any material risk to the viability of the coworking sector in India.

    Negative effects of covid-19 on the coworking sector in India

    As you might expect at this point, covid-19 will land quite a few blows on the coworking sector in India.

    A permanent decline in office space requirement?

    Covid-19 has spurred a disruption in attitudes towards work, and remote working is catching on.

    Also read: Companies are Asking their Employees to Work from Home due to CoronaVirus

    Firms are innovating to offer remote and work from home solutions like virtual conferencing applications (Google’s Meet, Facebook’s Messenger Rooms, etc) and planning and productivity tools (like Asana).

    If this trend sustains, it might lead to a permanent decline in the demand for office space.

    Clients are themselves affected

    The shutdown has led to fears of an imminent recession, which has spurred people to eschew spending as much as possible, and conserve cash. This has led to a general fall in demand.

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

    Consequently, even as workers work from home, businesses have been affected due the general lack of demand in the economy.

    So, they are choosing to cut costs as well, which means they won’t be in a hurry to rent work spaces, and even existing contracts may not get renewed.

    As Ankit Sachdeva, chief growth officer of Co-Offiz, put it, “People are not coming to our space due to the lockdown and we see no new business conversions any time soon”.

    Bills still need to be paid

    • Coworking companies will still need to pay rent for the spaces they’ve hired; utility bills will still need to be paid.
    • Safety and hygiene will need to be maintained for the spaces to remain suitable to work in, which entails costs.
    • Payroll cuts may clash with government directives.

    Social distancing and hygiene norms will increase costs

    Even when the economy does revive, and businesses start returning to coworking spaces, social distancing norms will reduce scalability.

    For example, teams may not want to go for ‘hot assets’ (from before), and renting entire desks and rooms may price a section of firms out of the market, shrinking the client base.

    Apart from that, hygiene norms like making sanitizers available throughout the facility will increase costs.

    Some positive developments for the coworking sector in India, post-covid19

    However, it is not all doom and gloom.

    At least one major investment has come in

    On April 23rd, Investors Clinic and Kocreate announced their intention to invest Rs 10 crore in a coworking joint venture.

    They expect demand for coworking spaces to pick up once lockdowns are eased, and especially after the pandemic is resolved.

    Their intention is to partner with a few builders who have been struggling with funding over previous quarters.

    These spaces are expected to be state of the art, AI-enabled and covid-19 compliant

    India’s startup ecosystem will endure

    • Before the covid-19 disruption, India’s startup ecosystem was estimated to generate up to 12.5 lakh direct jobs by 2025.
    • While covid-19 has definitely ravaged businesses in the short term, this too shall pass.
    • In fact, many experts believe the recovery will be quite quick.

    This means that the medium to long term growth projection of India’s startup ecosystem remains more or less on track. And that will obviously be a big boost to the coworking sector in India.

    Larger firms may want access to coworking spaces

    Larger firms may want to have access to multiple work sites, so that if one location is compromised due to an infection, other locations can carry on.

    Coworking companies can try to tap this demand.

    In fact, this is not a wild assumption.

    Neetish Sarda, founder, Smartworks, said “Corporates have informed us that they do not want to spend a significant amount of capital to open new offices, they want more flexibility” in an interview.

    Some steps coworking companies in India can take

    Coworking companies can take some steps to stave off the damage from covid-19:

    Form and widen an industry association

    A number of coworking companies have indeed decided to form an industry association.

    Known as the Indian Workspace Association (IWA), it includes more than forty coworking companies across India.

    More coworking companies should join the industry association, to make it as broad-based as possible.

    Such an association can:

    • Formulate industry-wide policies.
    • Help smaller players plan their operations and growth.
    • Take up industry causes with the government and other relevant players.

    Seek help from the government

    In a free market economy, intervention from the government is generally best avoided.

    However, this is an unprecedented situation; one that calls for unprecedented actions, including asking for governmental intervention in the form of

    • Expediting tax refunds.
    • Necessary relief on rent, utility, and payroll obligations.
    • A dedicated credit guarantee scheme.

    Use market research and analytics to offer more facilities

    Coworking companies will need to invest in market research and analytics to understand the demand for facilities, and offer those.

    Also read: Coworking Space – Facilities and Benefits

    Local trends will have to be understood and steps taken to redesign available spaces accordingly.

    Partnering with other service providers

    Coworking companies can partner with business incubators, accelerators, and other relevant business service providers to provide more rounded solutions to work requirements.

    To sum up, amid all the doom and gloom, it is important to remember one thing. Remote working is not a new thing; and coworking has coexisted with remote working for years and years.

    The same will happen for working from home.

    After all, the community of people from diverse businesses that a coworking space provides cannot be replicated in a work from home scenario. And such a community is necessary to keep spurring innovation and disruption.

    Finally, coworking spaces can try to transition from providing only work space to providing complete growth solutions to businesses, in partnership with related services.

  • Detail Analysis: Effects on Tourism Industry Due To COVID-19

    Tourism has entered into a great crisis due to the worldwide panic of the Corona Virus pandemic. Till this moment of time its duration and scope still unknown which is creating a great destruction in the economy of the most of the countries. This has also lead to the stock market crash continued for a week to all the giants of the sector in different countries. One of the point which comes in the mind of most of the people is the impact of the COVID-19 Corona Virus on world tourism. This is one of the unanswerable question for us, and the authorities’ forecasts are based on previous experiences with similar crises such as that of H1N1 and SARS and many other dreadful diseases. Let us discuss the impact of COVID-19 corona virus on the tourism industry of different countries.

    Effect on Tourism Industry of different countries.

    Effect on Tourism Industry of different countries.
    Effect on Tourism Industry of different countries.

    Let us first check the contribution of tourism industry in the GDP of the top countries.

    • United States ($488 billion)
    • India ($230 billion)
    • China ($224 billion)
    • Germany ($130.8 billion)
    • United Kingdom ($103.7 billion)
    • France ($89.2 billion)
    • Italy ($76.3 billion)
    • Spain ($68.8 billion)
    • Brazil ($56.3 billion)

    Most of the countries in this list are the one having the beat medical facilities in the world. They are having a huge GDP and this is all possible due to the big contribution of tourism industry in their country. There is a drastic effects on Tourism Industry due to COVID-19. We can calculate from this stats that many of the people will be going to refuse or going to reschedule their plan of vacations due to this pandemic in these countries, which are adversely affected.

    China was the first country to suffer from this dreadful pandemic and so China’s tourism industry will be most affected due to the virus. The Chinese tourism industry represents 11% of their GDP and even growing in the last few years, will be going to get worst affected even after many years of this pandemic.

    Also Read: How Startups are Building Products to fight COVID-19?

    In 2020, Italy is expected to see a decrease of roughly 28.5 million tourist arrivals due to the impact of (COVID-19) coronavirus pandemic on the country’s tourist sector the GDP of the whole country. Same situation will also be there in Spain for few, till this situation gets controlled by us. According to the estimate, some of the parts of Italy like the region of Veneto can record the highest drop with a decrease of roughly 4.61 million arrivals due to this pandemic. Similarly, Lombardy is expected to register a decrease of about 3.87 million arrivals in 2020 which can change the future of the whole country.

    Effect on Tourism Industry and other businesses connected with it

    Effect on Tourism Industry and other businesses connected with it.
    Effect on Tourism Industry and other businesses connected with it.

    There are many other businesses which are drastically effected by Tourism Industry due to COVID-19.The tourism industry is connected with many other businesses like Hotels, airlines, and cruise operators which are also going to suffer. The pandemic has outbreak during the Lunar New Year which is one of the busiest travel seasons in Asia- the largest continent and thus a bigger source of investment in tourism industry.

    Also Read: Flight Rates Drop due to Coronavirus Outbreak

    The impact of the Corona Virus can be seen on different companies working in this sector only either directly or indirectly but are facing the global cancellations of trips, public events, temporary employment adjustments, and falls in income.

    As a result of (COVID-19) coronavirus pandemic, it I predicted by most of the market leaders that the global travel and tourism market is going to see a loss of 75.2 million jobs worldwide in 2020 due to almost no business in this sector. The region that is supposed to see the biggest loss from COVID-19 is the Asia Pacific region which can see a lose of approximately 48.7 million jobs, while European countries is forecast to be the second hardest hit with a forecasted employment drop of 10.1 million due to this pandemic.

  • UPI transactions Fall by 20% due to Lockdown, Lowest in 12 Months

    Due to the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19, UPI has recorded transactions of less than one billion for the month of April after 12 months of constant growth. This is the first time in the past seven months that UPI volume went below the one billion mark. According to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), UPI has registered 0.99 billion transactions amounting to Rs 1,51,140 crore(Rs 1.51 trillion).

    Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is an instant payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an RBI regulated entity. UPI can be used through various apps like Google Pay and PhonePe to make direct payments from one bank account to another.

    The lockdown imposed by government due to COVID-19 has caused everything to shut down or just semi-operational. The coronavirus outbreak has devasted many sectors of human life, let it be financial sector, industrial sector, etc. resulting into economic crisis.  Yet, India’s success with unified payments interface (UPI) has continued to bring essential services to consumers amid the lockdown as well.

    Though the government was able to transfer the relief money through UPI in the bank accounts of crores of Indians, UPI witnessed 20.8% drop in volume and a 26.7% fall in value as compared to the previous month. As corona effect, UPI had registered a little drop in payments volume in March resulting from 1.25 billion transactions worth Rs 2,06,462 crore or Rs 2.06 trillion.

    Moreover, along with UPI, NPCI’s real-time payments service IMPS has also registered a sharp fall in volume as well as the value of transactions. In April, IMPS processed 122.47 million payments worth Rs 1,21,140.79 crore which is almost half of the previous month. In the previous month i.e. March, the figure was 216.82 million transactions worth Rs 2,01,961.70 crore.

    The decline is shocking as in February 2020, the RBI governor, Shaktikanta Das, had highlighted that digital payments accounted for almost 97% of the daily payment system transactions in terms of volume. He also mentioned that digital payments had accelerated by 50% in terms of volume in the last five years.

    However, UPI body NPCI’s CEO Dilip Asbe said,
    “ For the last five years, the number of transactions of UPI has been growing continuously month-on-month. But now there has been a slight drop in the volume due to the lockdown. The drop in volumes is due to near-zero restricted spends such as on e-commerce, travel, and similar online platforms. We expect volumes to pick up soon.”

    Reasons behind the Drop in Transactions

    It was anticipated that a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic would affect the digital payment volumes. However, financial experts were assured that digital payments will not get affected adversely but rather continue to grow as people would rely on digital transactions to avoid physical contact.

    During the initial days of the lockdown, e-commerce, foodtech, grocery as well as other online platforms were unable to operate. This led to gradual fall in transactions but later the government had allowed essential services to continue. Moreover, payments to PM-CARES via UPI have been the driving force behind UPI’s growth which is still 20.8% drop and these numbers are only in a few million.

    Yet, transactions did not comeback to the normal as government only allowed transactions on essentials. Hence, a majority of e-commerce services are still waiting for government orders. Soon, the government is likely to relax the norms for e-commerce platforms and allow them to deliver non-essential goods as well.

    According to payment gateway Razorpay’s digital transaction report, for the month of April the transactions in the logistics have dropped by 96%, the travel sector has declined by 87%, food, and beverage by 68% and groceries by 54%. In the last 30 days, transactions in cities like Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Chennai took a hit of 43%, 32% and 25% respectively. The report recorded transactions between, when the lockdown was announced.

    Razorpay’s report also stated that UPI emerged as the most popular digital payment method from March 24 to April 23,  with 43% of the total transactions during the period. It was followed by card payments with 39% and net banking with 10%. However, compared to previous month, transactions through UPI declined by 37%, cards by 30% and net banking by 28%.

    Digital payment
    Government has asked people to prefer Contactless Payment

    Travel Restrictions affected the Digital Payments

    The fall in UPI and digital payments is not only because of global and national lockdowns and restrictions on non-essential segments but due to restrictions on tour, travel as well. During the lockdown, people are not allowed to travel by train or aeroplane. This resulted into massive fall in transactions as people cannot book tickets of train or plane.

    The report revealed that the metro cities were affected the most and the impact was still limited in other cities and towns. This difference in impact is more significant in metro cities because the number of people travelling by air, especially for work, is also higher in the metros. The report added that leading firms are also processing fewer online and offline digital transactions with air travel, hospitality, and retail being the three most-impacted sectors.

    Read More: Coronavirus Impact on Digital Payments Startups

    Steps taken to deal with the Drop

    As of now, NPCI seems prepared to handle the lockdown. CEO Dilip Asbe said that NPCI can multiple sessions and has a spare capacity to handle the demand. In order to ensure that everything keeps running smoothly, around 5% of the NPCI’s workforce is still going to office.

    NPCI has already devised a plan for the situation with due consideration of all the factors. Asbe said that NPCI has received complaints from some businesses about delays in cheque clearing. He added that there could be issues on the last mile. While we are in touch with banks, there might be some issues with uploading because of the lockdown.

    These issues are might be hard to resolve now as most of the workforce isn’t available now. However, Asbe said that the main objective here is to keep employees safe. If they are safe, the operations can be managed. There are things we cannot disclose, but there is enough backup in case something goes wrong.

    Government is also using UPI technology for facilitating the transfer of money in the bank accounts of beneficiaries within a day under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY). He noted that besides this transfer of relief funds, the government has been using UPI for transferring monetary perks in various schemes such as Ujwala and MNREGA.

    After the success of the implementation of UPI in these schemes, many state governments are now relying on UPI technology to transfer funds under various schemes. Madhya Pradesh government which recently transferred some relief money in the accounts of lakhs of construction workers. PM Narendra Modi has urged people to go for digital payment to ensure safety from the infection.

    Also Read: Best Payment Gateways in India for Your Business

    Meanwhile, several big names in the Indian startup ecosystem have come forward to appeal. Amitabh Kant, CEO of Niti Aayog and Rajan Anandan, managing director of Sequoia Capital India, have been encouraging people to make online payments. Both Kant and Anandan through social media have emphasised that digital payments are the safest way to make payments to ensure minimum exposure to coronavirus.

  • Facebook launches Messenger Rooms to Compete Zoom

    During lockdown imposed due to COVID-19, video calling software is hugely popular at the moment especially Zoom has seen the boom in its usage. Now the world’s largest social network Facebook has released a new video conferencing tool Messenger Rooms that resembles Zoom.

    Due to lockdown and restrictions, many companies have asked their employees to work from home. We can say that Zoom rules the working from home video group chat kingdom right now as millions of people are relying on Zoom during the Coronavirus pandemic. Facebook wants more of the video calling market and hence has introduced a new tool called Messenger Rooms.

    The feature will allow up to 50 people to participate in a video chat through a link. It lets you video chat with multiple people through Messenger even if you don’t have a social media account. Facebook says participants do not need to be Facebook users to access the feature. This could help the company compete with popular videoconferencing app Zoom during the Coronavirus pandemic.

    The reason behind Zoom’s success was the requirement for businesses looking to keep connected and working with the maximum haste and minimum spend. But security and privacy was simply taken for granted by Zoom. One of the biggest security issues in Zoom is the increase in “Zoombombing” when uninvited attendees break into and disrupt your meeting. Thus, journalists, researchers and regulators have noticed its many security and privacy problems.

    Taking security and privacy concerns for granted wasn’t a great idea after all. As a result, many users started looking out for other videoconferencing tool which can also ensure security & privacy concerns. Taking advantage of this situation, Facebook must have taken the decision to launch Messenger Rooms.

    All about Messenger Rooms

    As explained by Facebook in a blog post, Messenger Rooms is not a separate app but rather a feature that can be launched from the existing Facebook or Messenger apps. And users can play around with virtual backgrounds too, like Zoom app.

    On Friday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a live broadcast,
    “ Messenger Rooms allows your friends and family to drop in at any time. Video presence isn’t just about calling someone. It’s starting to be a fundamental building block of a private social platform with lots of different use cases.”

    More than 700 million accounts participate in voice and video calls every day on Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Facebook said that the number of group video calls has gone up by more than 10 times in some cases since the coronavirus outbreak began.

    Mark Zuckerberg said,
    ” I know that this is a challenging period for so many of us around the world. My hope is that we can make a difference during this time and in the months ahead.”

    Facebook said that it would soon be adding Messenger Rooms integration to Instagram, WhatsApp, and the Portal video caller too. So users can jump into a video chat from whatever app or device they happen to be on.

    In many countries, video calling on Messenger and WhatsApp more than doubled and views of Facebook Live and Instagram Live videos increased significantly in March when the lockdowns and social distancing came into practice globally. way of keeping in touch with friends and family while we’re all shut up and separated indoors.

    Comparing both apps, in social distancing times, Zoom allows up to 100 people to join a free video meeting from the comfort of their homes. But Zoom has put limit of 40 minutes on free calling. While, Facebook has announced Messenger Rooms that will allow group video calls of up to 50 people with no time limit.

    How to use Messenger Rooms?

    People can create a room right from Messenger or Facebook and invite anyone to join the video call even if they don’t have a Facebook account. In Facebook Messenger Rooms, the users can also post links in their News Feed or in Groups or event pages. All you need to do is create a Room by clicking on a video icon on Facebook Messenger.

    When you create a room, you choose who can see and join it. You can remove people from the call. Users can also lock a room if they don’t want anyone else to enter. If your friends or communities create rooms that are open to you, you’ll see them on Facebook so you can find things to do and people to hang out with. You can join video calls through a phone or computer.

    Messenger Rooms Screenshots
    Facebook has given many controls to Host

    What about Privacy?

    Facebook says it has added a number of privacy features to secure Rooms unlike Zoom. The person who creates a room has the authority to let people join and must be present in order to initiate a call. The room creator can remove guests, and the room automatically locks for that person when he or she leaves.

    If your colleagues or friends create a room that is open for you, you will see them at the top of your news feed. The room can be limited to the members of the group or else anyone with the link can be allowed in. You can control who sees the room.

    Those who have been previously blocked on Facebook won’t be able to see the feature or join in. Additionally, people can report a group video chat for violating Facebook’s rules. Facebook has assured that it does not view or listen to calls. Facebook clarified that room calls are not end-to-end encrypted.

    Stan Chudnovsky, Facebook’s vice president of Messenger explained,
    ” We don’t view or listen to your calls, and the person who creates the room controls who can join, who sees the room, and if the room is locked or unlocked to new guests.”

    Related: Alternatives to Zoom App while Working Remotely

    Difference between Messenger Rooms and regular video calling on Facebook

    Facebook already has video calling feature in its Messenger app. There are several differences between Messenger Rooms and regular calling on Facebook. In messenger rooms, participants do not compulsorily need a Facebook account to join a video call created in Messenger Rooms.

    Like Zoom app, users can lock a room once everyone has joined in so that no one else can join. Only the person who created a room can grant permission to let someone join the video call. If you’ve blocked someone on Facebook or Messenger, they won’t be able to join a call. These features cannit be seen in regular Facebook video calling.

    Facebook is also adding new augmented reality effects in Messenger Rooms. It would include 14 camera filters to brighten your space and your face. Facebook is also introducing 360-degree backgroundsso users can feel like they’re somewhere else like the beach, space, etc. while they video chat. Users can play with AR effects like bunny ears and new AI-powered features like immersive 360 backgrounds and mood lighting.

    Facebook plans to add an option in Facebook Dating feature that makes it easier to meet and start new conversations with people who share your interests. This feature will be integrated within the main social network so that users can invite people to video chat in Messenger.

    When will Messenger Rooms be available?

    Facebook said it will be releasing out Messenger Rooms in selected countries this week before expanding globally. Other countries will get Rooms in the coming weeks. The social network didn’t specify which countries will get the new feature first.

    The release of the new tool Messenger Rooms is part of Facebook’s efforts around video presence which he defined as the ability to feel like you’re connected to someone live over video.

    Also Read: Say Namaste- An Indian Alternative Conferencing Platform for the Apps like ‘Zoom’

    What is the plan of Facebook?

    The company has also been expanding features for Facebook Live which is a tool people have been using more during the pandemic to work out, cook or attend religious services virtually. Facebook said it will bring back a tool that allows users to add another person to a live video.

    Instagram will now let you comment on live videos on your desktop and it also will make it possible to save your videos to IGTV so people can watch them after 24 hours. Facebook also plans to introduce a feature that’ll let you broadcast a live video from Facebook Portal to Facebook Pages and Groups.

    WhatsApp Group Calls will now be able to host a maximum of eight people instead of four. During lockdowns, views of Facebook Live and Instagram Live videos have also increased significantly in March. Facebook’s Live With video will allow people streaming a live video to invite another person to participate alongside them.

  • The Impact of Coronavirus On The Insurance Industry

    The coronavirus outbreak has affected all aspects of human life in the last two months. The deadly COVID-19 has affected around 3 million people worldwide. Many governments have taken steps such as lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19. A large number of people have turned towards buying insurance from insurance companies for their safety.

    Unsurprisingly, the novel coronavirus has left no sector unaffected. And the financial sector and the insurance industry are no exception. In some cases, insurers have started taking action to protect their businesses that left many consumers in dilemma. While others in the insurance industry are being forced into action for the customers’ benefit by the governments’ emergency responses to the virus.

    Policybazaar has revealed that it has seen a growth of nearly 25-30 percent in both health and life insurance sales during the lockdown period. It also expects a 30-40 percent growth can be witnessed in the online insurance segment. Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance says it has seen a 45 percent jump in new online business logins during this period of restrictions.

    At the same time, dissatisfaction among customers has increased as businesses and consumers realize that many basic policies do not cover the impacts of a global pandemic and are publicly expressing their worry. This situation is largely due to customers not fully understanding insurance coverage but also partly due to insurers using legalese and long, complicated terms and conditions.

    Many businesses, event managers, and restaurants are claiming their insurance due to losses they are going through. But many firms are unwilling to accept their claim. These people buy insurance based on which policy is the cheapest and such low quality policies rarely cover unexpected or unusual events like global pandemics.

    As insurers try to deal with an increased volume of claims and customer queries, they face increasing calls in the press and on social media to help individuals and businesses who suddenly find themselves in serious trouble. It is worsening the situation, resulting in long wait times for responses and further customer dissatisfaction.

    What is experts’ take on insurance policies?

    Industry experts say that the claim settlement process for covid-19 related cases will remain the same as other illnesses. Apart from hospitalization charges, most health insurance policies will also cover post-hospitalization expenses incurred during the recovery period.

    Mayank Bathwal, CEO of Aditya Birla Health Insurance, said,
    “This is not the first time of a virus outbreak. There have been Ebola, Zika, Nipah in the past, and coronavirus is just another one such outbreak. A health insurance policy covers all types of infections and coronavirus will also be included. Anyone who is hospitalized for 24 hours as a result of coronavirus will get coverage.”

    Reliance General Insurance stated,
    “Since COVID-19 is a new disease and does not come under pre-existing disease, it will be covered under your base policy. Hence, the insured will be provided with all the covers, including in-patient treatment, pre and post hospitalization, and other test and diagnosis on coronavirus related coverage.”

    Edelweiss General Insurance said,
    “We have decided to cover hospitalization for not only those who have a confirmed diagnosis but also those who have been quarantined in specific facilities identified by the government. The coverage amount is up to the sum insured under the policy. For the quarantined patients, the health policy ensures coverage for the entire period of quarantine with up to 100% of the claim amount being paid against quarantine and detection charges.”

    Also Read: 16 Founders shared Steps Taken by Companies after the Outbreak of CoronaVirus

    The impact on insurance industry is unusual

    A global pandemic is considered as the biggest, unfathomable risk to the insurance industry. Thus, most of the insurance companies seem to have taken little action to deal with such outbreaks. Customers may perceive that these firms are large organisations out for themselves but there are enormous risks to insurance businesses, the scale of which we have rarely seen before.

    Insurers and re-insurers are losing out on huge exposure as major events across the globe get cancelled. For instance, Munich Re, a German Reinsurance company, is tied to the Olympic games which has already been postponed. It’s a big dent for a huge firm like Munich Re but is manageable given the coffers of such large scale players in the insurance industry. But for smaller firms that specialize in event insurance and offer communicable disease cover, the ongoing cancellation of events of all sizes might lead to permanent closure.

    Due to collapse of individual life and health insurance, life insurance companies could be particularly hard hit by the combination of falling stock markets and increasing claims. Paying out on policies will be a huge loss to both insurers and re-insurers. It’s serious, unprecedented losses we’re talking about here.

    Additionally,the failure of many global businesses like the airlines industry (one of the earliest casualties) and hospitality chains is likely to follow. Firms of this size are more likely to have comprehensive cover. So having to pay out on policies that include contagious disease cover will add more to the ongoing burden on the insurance industry.

    The pandemic is incredibly serious for the insurance industry. Around $3oo million is expected to be paid out in COVID-19 related claims, the majority of which will be for cancellation cover. This might increase depending on the government’s directives and strategies to cope with the testing times.

    Claiming insurance for COVID-19
    IRDAI has asked people to read terms carefully before claiming any Insurance

    How insurance companies are dealing with the situation

    The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) had issued guidelines for health insurers asking to accelerate coronavirus related claims settlement in case of hospitalization. IRDAI has already asked health insurance companies to offer medical coverage for coronavirus infection in India. The Life Insurance Council also said the clause of ‘force majeure’ will not apply in case of COVID-19 death claims.

    The regulator has also instructed insurance companies to design specific health policies covering the treatment cost of COVID-19 which includes the medical expenses needed during the quarantine period. Some insurers have already introduced the same.

    On the other hand, seeing business opportunity amid the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, insurance companies have started offering policies specific to COVID-19 and are partnering with digital payment service providers to increase the sales of such plans.

    Bharti AXA General Insurance has tied up with Airtel Payments Bank to launch two health insurance plans. One offers a large amount of Rs 25,000 and another with daily benefits starting at Rs 500 per day to provide protection from COVID-19.

    Similarly, in partnership with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, Flipkart Online Services owned PhonePe launched a coronavirus hospitalization insurance policy called “Corona Care”. The policy is priced at Rs 156 with an insurance cover of Rs 50,000 for a person under 55 years of age, and the cover is applicable at any hospital offering coronavirus treatment.

    Other insurance companies like Star Health Insurance and Edelweiss General Insurance have also come up with exclusive insurance policies for COVID-19. In fact, Edelweiss General Insurance has extended hospitalization coverage to quarantined cases that have not even been diagnosed positive.

    Some insurers are also offering products to cover expenses, including treatment during quarantine period. The terms of claim settlement by these companies vary and a buyer must read the document carefully before purchasing an insurance plan.

    During the dengue outbreak, several insurance companies came up with policies to protect from vector-borne diseases. There are many existing health insurance plans in the market which provide protection from the COVID-19 disease.

    In fact, most of these insurance companies offering specific polices for coronavirus are not asking their potential customers to go for medical check up. Instead they are making sure that their consumers do not have coronavirus-like symptoms.

    Conclusion

    Though some insurance policies don’t have the clause of covering pandemics and epidemics, industry experts believe all companies will have to comply to IRDAI’s strict directive. The regulatory directive is so clear that claims reported under Covid-19 should be reviewed thoroughly before rejecting any claim.

    Also Read: Steps Taken by Online Food Delivery Startups amid CoronaVirus Outbreak

    This is a worldwide emergency and any claims related to coronavirus should not be rejected. The policies should not have pandemic exclusion. Moreover, it is advised that policyholders check with their insurers about the terms and conditions of the policy to avoid hassles at the time of making claims.

  • IT Services giant Cognizant Hit by ‘Maze’ Ransomware

    New-Jersey headquartered Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation is one of the world’s largest providers of IT services. But on April 18, it became a victim of Maze ransomware attack that has caused disruptions to its clients. The incident comes at a time when businesses have been already disrupted by coronavirus pandemic that has forced companies to turn to initiatives like work from home to ensure business continuity.

    Cognizant released a statement on Saturday on its official website which stated, “Cognizant can confirm that a security incident involving our internal systems and causing service disruptions for some of our clients, is the result of a Maze ransomware attack.”

    Cognizant has around 300,000 employees and over $16.8 billion in revenues. It handles the IT services for many of the top Fortune 500 companies. Cognizant has majority of its employees in India and the Philippines working from homes during the lockdown caused by Covid-19.

    Among other services, Cognizant provides a wide range of outsourced IT services for the financial services sector. The financial sector accounted for over $5.8 billion of its total revenues in 2019. The company, that has 3 lakh employees working worldwide, said it was hit by the Maze ransomware group and is engaging law enforcement authorities to take some legal actions against the group.

    In January, 2020, the Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI) had issued an alert warning to all U.S. companies about the Maze’s ill practices of threatening to release company information if the desired ransom is not paid to them.

    Even after being attacked, Cognizant has not yet been named on a website that is associated with Maze attackers. The website has named other companies in the past for failing to fulfil the Maze related ransomware demand. Brett Callow, security analyst, said that the group could simply be A/B testing alternative negotiating strategies to see whether permitting companies to control the release of information results in better outcomes or not.

    What is the Maze Ransomware?

    The infamous Maze ransomware was discovered in 2019 and since then, it has gained notoriety. The anonymous hackers behind Maze have made headlines in recent months for publicly holding its victims hostage. The group is known for threatening to leak company’s valuable information if the target doesn’t pay its desired ransom.

    The cyber criminals behind the Maze ransomware use a range of different techniques to gain entry to the companies it is targeting. It includes exploits kits, remote desktop connections with weak passwords or sophisticated fraudulent campaigns. The ransomware itself is sophisticated so that its code avoids detection by security programmes.

    According to March 2020 McAfee analysis, Maze malware is a binary file of 32 bits usually packed as an EXE or a DLL file. This indicates that the Maze ransomware can also terminate debugging tools used to analyse its behaviour, including the IDA debugger, x32dbg, OllyDbg and more processes. So it is almost impossible for a ordinary firewall software to detect the threat.

    Also Read: Sequretek is Working Hard and Smart to Secure Your Startup

    What does Maze Group do?

    Typically the goal of any ransomware attack is to infect computers in a private network and encrypt files on these computers and then demand a ransom to recover the files. According to experts Maze is different. The attacker in this case has the ability to format or transfer the data onto his or her server. The data is then held on this server until a ransom is paid to recover it. If the victim does not pay the expected ransom, the attackers then publish the data online in public.

    According to Beenu Arora, CEO & co-founder of US-based cyber security company, Cyble, Maze ransomware operators are known to conduct their attack below the surface. They are known for stealing the company’s data first followed by locking their target systems. They fully understand their victim’s reputational risks and hence their approach is basically “steal, lock and inform.”

    According to a report, the attackers even justified their actions in a statement saying:

    “We want to show that the system is unreliable. The cybersecurity is weak. The people who should care about the security of the information are unreliable. We want to show that nobody cares about the users. Now it’s our turn. We will change the situation by making irresponsible companies pay for every data leak.”

    Arora further added that the notorious ransomware group understands the brand value of the organization it plans to attack. It has turned into a well-funded network in recent months. The reason behind this is successful ransomware attacks due to growth in their group and organizations increasingly paying ransomware extortions as no options are left. Also, some certain cyber insurance companies are negotiating with the ransomware operators to make payments.

    Maze Ransomware
    Maze has tried to target many U.S. Companies

    The alleged targets of Maze have included the city of Pensacola in Florida, cybersecurity insurance provider Chubb Ltd. and Canadian construction company Bird Construction Inc., according to various media reports. The Maze group has claimed to post files from all three companies on its website. Now, the same might be done in case of Cognizant.

    According to Brett Callow, a threat analyst at Emisoft, even though hackers linked to Maze have denied their involvement in the attack on Cognizant, it does not mean that Maze isn’t responsible for the attack. For the moment though, no Cognizant data has been advertised for sale or published online.

    What are Steps being taken by Cognizant?

    Cognizant has about 200,000 employees based in India. This means it must take the necessary steps to contain the ransomware in order to not cause any furthermore disruptions as its clients are spread across the world.

    As a solution to this, Cognizant has said that it is looking into the incident and the company is also communicating with clients on the measures to be taken by them to deal with the disruptions. Cognizant quoted that their internal security teams along with the leading cyber defense firms are actively taking steps to contain this incident.

    Also Read: 9 Battle-Tested Hacks to Market your New Startup Organically

    Cognizant has also engaged with the appropriate law enforcement authorities to take required legal actions. Cognizant is in ongoing communication with our clients. They have provided them with Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) which identify potentially malicious activity on a system and other technical information of a defensive nature.

  • 3 Founders shared how Small Businesses Coping with Situation of Covid Outbreak

    Covid-19, which has shaken the whole world has brought everyone’s life at halt. This highly contagious disease is spreading so fast that Indian Government has ordered 1.3 billion residents to stay home. In this lockdown period, all malls, theaters, companies, shops, restaurants, manufacturing units are shut. This will affect businesses and economy badly. Many companies have told their employees to work from home. But, its not possible for all companies like manufacturing units, theaters, malls to let their employees work from home.

    People are also scared of going out. This coronavirus has made people’s lifestyle slow and it will take time for everyone including companies to come back on track after this long period of lock down. COVID-19 has put slowdown to a business everywhere. Travel, Hotel, Events, and Entertainment are the sectors that are suffering.

    Many small businesses may close because of many issues due to losses. We asked few founders of few companies about how small businesses are coping with situation of coronavirus outbreak and business closure.

    Also Read:

    Small Businesses Coping with Covid Outbreak

    How are small businesses in manufacturing coping with business closures?

    Surmount Business

    Surmount Business practices targets to become a strategic partner to entrepreneurs and enterprises to help expand businesses beyond their existing roots, professionalize their operations and enhance their Capital Efficiency. We talked with Niraj Bora, Founder, about how small businesses in manufacturing are coping with business closure.

    Few people in Manufacturing I know have pivoted to produce some or the other essential commodity / product in F&B, healthcare, etc. That might not be possible for everyone, but the said situation warrants us to pivot from one thing to other to cope up with the losses and keep it going. On one hand, workers want to work but are out of jobs, and on another hand essential factories face labour problem due to migration to hometowns. Mobilising manpower with other factories to utilise manpower and reduce burden of salaries is another way to beat the market lockdown.

    upGrad Education

    Founded in early 2015, upGrad offers online programs for working professionals. We talked with Mayank Kumar, Co-founder & MD, about how small businesses in manufacturing are coping with business closure.

    The current COVID-19 situation has brought economies across geographies to a standstill. Especially businesses involved in manufacturing where units have been shut, supply chain has been disturbed, and all imports have been stalled. While the companies are trying and testing new policies and undertaking relief plans to revive from the clutches of the current pandemic and keep their workforce intact, the Government must also take necessary measures to cushion the adverse effects, especially for small scale businesses, as compared to the larger companies who operate with extra cash flow.

    Also Read:

    How corona Outbreak has affected Ecommerce startups and how they plan to recover?

    Xboom Utilities

    A one-stop E-Commerce startup based in Bangalore that provides safety and security products across categories ranging from vehicle safety, women’s safety, home safety, personal safety to defense. We talked with Vishal Saurav, Founder & CEO, about how corona outbreak has affected Ecommerce startup.

    First of all, I urge all of the readers to follow the guidelines and stay safe in this dire situation. As the impact of the pandemic is global, the trade has slumped and most of the economy is hit hard. Our economy is no exception. Even e-commerce players like us are facing the blow, logistics and human resources issues add on to our lag. Export and import has been severely affected and speculations are that the situation will continue for another couple of weeks (or more), when the business is expected to be slower. Both demand and supply are low as people are prioritizing the basic needs only and not prepared mentally to buy other things, be it offline or online.

    Most of the states have announced a lock-down and numbers are going to be grimmer this week onwards. We are adapting to the situation but it will take a bit of time to get back to the normal. To speed up things, all companies should adopt the work from home policy, which we had already implemented and wait until any remedy becomes available.  On an individual level everyone should look out for oneself and the families, stay home, stay hygienic and stay safe. In this adverse situation, if all of us, individuals and corporates alike, follow the basic rules and cooperate, then we should be able to work and stay safe at the same time.

    upGrad Education

    Founded in early 2015, upGrad offers online programs for working professionals. We talked with Mayank Kumar, Co-founder & MD, about how corona outbreak has affected Ecommerce startup.

    Talking about online education sector at large, seems, it took a global pandemic to bring online education into the mainstream, which has otherwise played second fiddle to the offline model. As per our recent statistics, the current situation has been a net positive for us. The inflection point was the second last week of February 2020 (17th Feb – 24th Feb) followed by the week next, when we started witnessing exponential traction towards our platform.

    In the last week of Feb, leads (~interested learners / prospects) increased by around 34% compared to the week before. It further soared as the country started to move towards the concept of social distancing. In the first week of March, our interest went up by 75% as well. Two to three weeks ago, we used to get 2,500 enquiries a day, but there has been a 50% upside with over 3,800 enquiries per day.  Therefore, to conclude, I would like to mention that the only way to move ahead is by adapting to the evolving environment as quickly as possible, else businesses would fall prey to such uncertain times and consecutive circumstances.

    Also Read: