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<ul><li><keyword id="1402053" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ashok-vaswani" source="Orion">Ashok Vaswani</keyword> is a Stanford graduate who is also a CA, CS and did his Bachelors at Sydenham College of Commerce.</li><li>Vaswani worked with <keyword id="44473" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="citigroup" source="Orion">Citigroup</keyword> and more recently, at <keyword id="6386585" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="barclays" source="Orion">Barclays</keyword>, where he built and grew the business to a scale.</li><li>Vaswani is obsessed with technology but also focused on earning the trust of his consumers.</li><li><keyword id="45051" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="uday-kotak" source="Orion">Uday Kotak</keyword> has roped in an outsider given the extent of the transformation that <keyword id="46013" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kotak-mahindra-bank" source="Orion">Kotak Mahindra Bank</keyword> will need in times to come when banks will have to fight for wallet share of consumers. </li></ul>Today, you don’t need to step into a bank to make payments, check your balance or even request for a cheque book. That is if you still use those booklets. Since your bank’s mobile app allows you to do all this and much more online, can there be more digitisation in banking? Well, the new CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank Ashok Vaswani thinks that a lot more technology can be deployed in banks. As the CEO of Barclays Bank UK, Vaswani knows how the lives of consumers can transform with digitisation. He is also cognisant of the fact that a bank does not only cater to millennials or GenZ population. At Barclays, he had a team of tech experts to help consumers who were even in their 1990s such that they could learn not just digital banking but even chat with grandkids on Skype or Zoom. That is how the new CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank thinks, given that his head and heart are in the right place. At a time when banks are struggling to keep consumers happy while maintaining high profit margins, Vaswani could well be the man who can plug the gaps. And, if there’s something he can talk about for hours, it is the technological transformation of financial services. Not only is he cognisant of the ease that digital banking brings, but also the risk that comes along with it. This generational shift at India’s fourth largest private bank in India clearly wants to up its game in the years to come by leveraging technology to transform not only its operations but also create new and better services for its customers. Imagine an AI Bot that actually tells consumers every month on how spending on eating out is much more than feasible or that average monthly savings are not good enough when you retire. Yes, Vaswani believes that is the next stage of banking as it can open up different ecosystems. In an interview a few years ago at the University of West England, Bristol, he said: “I would submit that a lot more digitisation can happen. Why would I not be able to tell you, you are earning so much, you are spending this much and you should be saving. Can you imagine, you spent so much money on Uber and that you should be careful?” There are so many aspects of digital transformation that limits are frankly only set in the mind. As the CEO of Barclays UK, he has not just built a lot of products for consumers but even their confidence in the bank and the banking system. It is a refreshing change to hear a CEO talk about confidence in the company and not just on margins. Vaswani has a proven track record spanning three and a half decades across the world’s leading banks. He was initially at Citigroup and more recently, at Barclays, where he built and grew the business to a scale. He brings with him significant executional experience with a high degree of compliance and industrial strength across corporate and consumer businesses. Vaswani was Chief Executive Officer of Barclays Bank, UK and subsequently CEO of their global consumer, private, corporate and payments businesses and Member of the group executive committee. Earlier, he was CEO Citigroup Asia Pacific and Member of the Citigroup Global Operating Management Committees. He also built and ran various country and regional businesses across geographies. What makes him interesting is that he has not only run global banks but has even been president of Pagaya Technologies, a US-Israeli AI fintech company. This kind of exposure makes him a much better candidate than any insider at Kotak Mahindra Bank. At last count, there were three top contenders for the job, but Uday Kotak has roped in an outsider given the extent of the transformation that the bank will need to undertake to remain relevant in the face of competition from other fintechs. Ashok is married to Veena and their daughter is working in the United States of America. It is interesting that Uday Kotak, first generation founder and promoter of Kotak Mahindra Bank, has brought in an outsider to run the bank. Organisations typically are wary of bringing in outsiders at top jobs mostly because of the friction that results from such hiring due to cultural fitment and acceptance of a known candidate. It is easier for the rank and file to accept an insider rather than an outsider but Uday Kotak has chosen to take the risky route. While in some unfortunate cases like Infosys, where Vishal Sikka did not fare too well when promoters stepped away in 2014, the experiment of outsiders has been rather successful at the Tata Group. When Ratan Tata took over the reins at the Tata Group, he brought in Kishor Chaukar who came from ICICI Securities to head Tata Industries. Ravi Kant came in from Philips India in 1999, and headed commercial vehicles for Tata Motors before becoming MD in 2005. In 1998, the then vice-chairman of Hindustan Lever (now known as Hindustan Unilever), moved to Tata Sons as executive director. Typically, Indian corporations bring in overseas talent when they believe that the requisite skills are not available in India. But given that India’s private banking sector has grown and flourished under the stewardship of homegrown talent, this shift is an interesting move by Uday Kotak, who clearly sees merit in Vaswani’s experience outside of India. No wonder Uday Kotak, Founder and Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank said: “I am proud that we bring a ‘Global Indian’ home to build Kotak and India of tomorrow.” Interestingly, Ashok Vaswani is a Bachelor of Commerce, Economics and Accountancy, from the Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics (Bombay University), CA from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, CS from the Institute of Company Secretaries of India and Executive Education from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Uday Kotak too is alumnus of Sydenham College and has a postgraduate degree in management studies in 1982 from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies.

The CEO who believes that there’s a lot more to digitise at banks

<ul><li>The gig economy of India is attracting more and more young people aged between 16 to 23 years.</li><li>Teenagers, between the age group of 16 to 18, have shown a massive 750% growth in terms of willingness to opt for <keyword id="8708804" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gig-jobs" source="Orion">gig jobs</keyword>, revealed <keyword id="10663475" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="taskmo" source="Orion">Taskmo</keyword> report.</li><li>However, gig jobs are nowhere enough for a worker to survive and support a family.</li></ul>India’s gig economy, which has been expanding, is now attracting the youngest of employable India, as per a report. According to a report by gig marketplace Taskmo, the gig economy largely attracted youth aged between 16-23 years. Over 40% of the 7,50,000 registered gig workers on the Taskmo platform are of this age group and it has increased eight-fold in 2022 as compared to 2019. “As the concept of gig is finding wide acceptance, there is a surge in participation of youth, who are preferring to take up gig job roles. Younger generations are also more open to exploring varied opportunities. It’s good that they do not want to limit themselves to work that comes with boundaries,” said <keyword id="12360099" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Prashant-Janadri" source="Orion">Prashant Janadri</keyword>, co-founder, Taskmo. Teenagers are the most keen as those between 16-18, have shown a massive 750% growth in terms of willingness to opt for gig jobs. Gig jobs allow youngsters to earn pocket money, without tying them down to stringent timings. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Covid job losses and gigs" comment="subhead" text="Covid job losses and gigs">Covid job losses and gigs</cmsannotation> But, it’s not just youngsters who are taking up gigs. The Covid-19 pandemic opened the floodgates for the gig workers as people relied heavily on them for home delivery of necessities. Many of them joined the gig economy in desperation as the pandemic felled many full-time jobs. “Although the gig economy provides a lot of appealing benefits, many full-time employees had to reluctantly join the sector out of necessity during the start of Covid-19,” the report said. Indian unemployment rate for the month of July dipped to its lowest in six months to 6.8%; but that’s mostly due to increased agricultural activities, according to CMIE data. Urban unemployment in India jumped to 8.2% in July from 7.8% in June – showing the need for full time jobs that offer medicare and other benefits, in addition to a steady pay. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Added expenses and low pay" comment="subhead" text="Added expenses and low pay">Added expenses and low pay</cmsannotation> According to a <keyword id="14747776" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="GigPulse-report" source="Orion">GigPulse report</keyword> by Karmalife that produces <a href="https://hr.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/workplace-4-0/employee-wellbeing/only-36-gig-workers-are-financially-resilient-in-india-says-gigpulse-report/92609399">financial solutions for gig workers</a>, the average earnings of gig workers stands at ₹18,000 per month. Over 15% of them face a financial deficit of at least ₹5,000 per month, on an average. Most gig workers also have to spend a part of their earnings on vehicle maintenance. About 22% of the gig workers in India are primary earners who support their families and view their jobs as core livelihood. About 39% co-earn with other family members and view their gig jobs as temporary transition to a ‘better opportunity’, <a href="https://www.livemint.com/money/only-22-of-gig-workers-in-india-primary-earners-says-report-11657172064836.html">revealed </a>the GigPulse report. <keyword id="46425" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="anand-mahindra" source="Orion">Anand Mahindra</keyword>, the chairman of Mahindra Group also spoke about the need to create full-time job opportunities and careers at his annual general meeting or AGM speech on August 5. “In the private sector, job creation is happening mainly at the lower end of the gig economy - drivers for Uber, delivery for Zomato, that sort of thing. This is not nearly enough. To create jobs on a mass scale and to take advantage of the global factors that are moving in our favour - we must boost manufacturing,” said Mahindra. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/indians-are-buying-more-pre-owned-cars-scorpio-fortuner-among-the-top-picks/articleshow/93619467.cms">Indians are buying more pre-owned cars: Scorpio, Fortuner among the top picks</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sustainability/news/genzs-millennials-are-turning-to-thrift-stores-to-upgrade-their-wardrobe-while-saving-the-environment/articleshow/93619737.cms">GenZs, millennials are turning to thrift stores to upgrade their wardrobe while saving the environment</a>

Gig jobs are popular with pocket-money seeking teens, for primary earners it’s a burden

In a bid to carve a niche in the green tech space in the US, Mahindra launched all electric two-wheeler GenZe 2.0 in California. 
 
GenZe, whose idea was conceived in Silicon Valley and assembled in Michigan, will reduce congestion and pollution. 
 The scooter was launched during an event in Oakland, California in the presence of the city Mayor Libby Schaaf and <keyword id="6355744" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mahindra-Group">Mahindra Group</keyword> chairman Anand Mahindra. 
 
"Oakland is the perfect place to combine electric bikes and electric scooters, with mobility sharing and solar power. Projects like Bike Solar Oakland and San Francisco's Scoot Networks are the type of Smart City Initiatives we are launching in Oakland," Schaaf said. 
 
GenZe2.0 is fitted with a removable lithium-ion battery and can be recharged at any standard electrical outlet. 
 "The GenZe 2.0 launch event in Oakland recognises the creativity and determination of the <keyword id="2237081" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mahindra-GenZe">Mahindra Genze</keyword> team to design and develop a remarkably distinctive product," said Anand Mahindra.

Mahindra is going green in the US, launches all electric scooter GenZe

<ul><li>Mahindra &amp; Mahindra (M&amp;M) slashed nearly half of the redundant job roles at its North American unit. </li><li>In a written statement to Business Insider, Mahindra’s spokesperson said that its Detroit centre would continue work on its electric car platforms and prepare for the launch of the New Roxor 2021. </li><li>Reports indicate the positions were cut across various verticals, including engineering staff, at its Detroit-based plant, which rolls out off-road vehicle Roxor.</li></ul>One of India’s largest automakers, Mahindra &amp; Mahindra (M&amp;M), has slashed nearly half of the redundant job roles at its North American unit even as it remains focussed on building its electric vehicles business. It took these tough measures as it looks to conserve cash and work towards building a leaner organisation across global businesses. According to its <a href="https://www.mahindraautomotivena.com/about">official website, MANA</a> employed around 500 people till early 2020, is reported to have slashed over half of the workforce. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-mahindra-usa-layoffs-exclusive/exclusive-indian-automaker-mahindra-cuts-over-half-of-north-america-workforce-sources-say-idUKKBN29I26F">Reports</a> indicate the positions were cut across various verticals, including engineering staff at its Detroit-based plant. In a written statement to Business Insider, Mahindra’s spokesperson said that even as it realigns its workforce and cuts down on non-core operations, work will continue at its Detroit centre on the ‘Born Electric’ platforms. Mahindra is also preparing to launch the New Roxor 2021, for which they continue to ‘retain as well as bring in new and relevant skilled talent.’ Mahindra opened the <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/mahindra-opens-detroits-first-car-making-plant-in-25-years/article20608973.ece">Detroit plant</a> in 2017 with an investment of $230 million, marking its first automotive plant in nearly the city in three decades. The North-America plant plays an important role in building out off-road vehicle Roxor and GenZe Electric scooters for Mahindra. Although the company did not announce the number of employees that were laid off, it said that given the challenging business environment, the North American unit has combined some of the job roles, and reduced the resultant redundant jobs. The Mahindra Group remains firm on implementing capital allocation norms, with a sharp focus on financial returns, driving growth, and continued improvement in international subsidiaries, the statement added. The company had <a href="https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/passenger-vehicle/uv/revamped-detroit-plant-to-start-making-new-jeep-by-march-31/80165634">recently invested $1.6 billion </a>to revamp two old engine plants to build the new versions of the popular Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV — the production is likely to start by the end of March. It will also build two-row and what likely will be plug-in hybrid electric versions of the Grand Cherokee later this year at the Detroit Assembly complex. M&amp;M is planning to focus on manufacturing large sport-utility vehicles and electric models for its core India market, where the company has struggled competing with its peers such as Tata Motors and Kia. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/the-indian-government-may-call-whatsapp-to-explain-why-its-new-data-sharing-terms-apply-in-india-but-not-in-europe/articleshow/80262586.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink"> The Indian government may call WhatsApp to explain why its new data privacy policy applies in India but not in Europe</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/world/news/trump-becomes-first-president-to-be-impeached-twice-as-house-charges-him-with-inciting-an-insurrection/articleshow/80260200.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Trump becomes first president to be impeached twice as House charges him with inciting an insurrection</a>

Mahindra says Roxor 2021 will still be made in Detroit after laying off nearly 250 redundant roles

<keyword id="45224" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mahindra">Mahindra</keyword>, the country's largest <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=SUV+maker">SUV maker</a>, is ready to make an entry on US roads through two wheelers. It will soon launch Vespa-like electric scooter called the <keyword id="2361033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Genze">GenZe</keyword> in the US. 
 
The company hopes to win over campus dwellers with a $2,999, electric scooters called GenZe, which goes on sale this fall in California, Oregon and Michigan. Sales might expand to other states and Europe, depending on its outcome. 
 
The further course of action depends on this current launch. If buyers like it, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Mahindra+">Mahindra</a> could use the GenZe as a springboard into the car market, just as <keyword id="20630" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Honda">Honda</keyword> made the leap from motorcycles to cars in 1970s. 
 
But this strategy has some risks. Firstly, scooters are not as popular in the US as elsewhere in the world, for example, people in China buy as many <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=electric+scooters+">electric scooters</a> in a day as Americans do in a full year. 
 
Secondly, consumers might not trust Mumbai-based Mahindra, which scrapped an attempt to sell vehicles here five years ago because it couldn't meet US safety standards. 
 
“The pressure has really been on to make sure that we get this right,” says Terence Duncan, the head of customer engagement for the GenZe and one of its chief designers. “What we're doing, really, is introducing the brand to American customers.” 
 Mahindra designed the GenZe in <keyword id="6357722" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="silicon-valley">Silicon Valley</keyword> with features favored by tech-savvy Millennials, like a secure laptop charging port under the seat. It opened its four stores in <keyword id="12161" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="San-Francisco">San Francisco</keyword> and <keyword id="92788" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Portland">Portland</keyword> because buyers there are more accepting of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=two-wheeled+transportation">two-wheeled transportation</a>. In Michigan, buyers can get a GenZe at the Ann Arbor factory where it's made. 
 
The GenZe only goes up to 30 miles per hour, so riders won't need a license. Its most innovative feature is a 28-pound removable battery, which riders can unhook and carry inside to charge. The battery takes 3.5 hours to fully charge, and the scooter goes for 30 miles on a charge. A 7-inch touchscreen display tells drivers their speed and range. 
 Only about 5,000 electric scooters will be sold in the US this year, according to Ryan Citron, who analyzes the market for the consulting company Navigant Research. Among them: the ZEV 2700 and the <keyword id="286421" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bravo">Bravo</keyword> EVT-168, which cost about the same as the GenZe. By comparison, 30,000 will be sold in Europe and 3.9 million in China, where electric scooters cost less than half the price of a GenZe because they use a cheaper type of battery. 
 
Citron says about 46,000 gas-powered scooters will be sold in the US this year. Any scooter has a tough time selling when gas prices are relatively low, he says. 
 Citron believes the electric scooter market will grow to around 20,000 annual sales by 2024 as companies like Mahindra and Oregon's <keyword id="3032764" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Boxx-Corp-">Boxx Corp.</keyword> enter the market. Another one to watch is Gogoro, a Taiwan-based scooter maker that wants to develop stations where riders can swap out batteries. 
 
Mahindra is targeting college campuses and also plans to supply scooter-sharing programs like Scoot. So far, it has around 300 GenZe orders from people who paid a $100 deposit. The company expects to make around 3,000 scooters in the first year, Duncan says. 
 
This isn't Mahindra's first attempt to crack the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=electric+scooters+">US car market</a>. The $16.9 billion conglomerate, which controls about 40% of the SUV market in India, began courting US dealers about a decade ago with the promise of delivering vehicles by 2009. But Mahindra had trouble meeting US vehicle regulations and canceled its plans in 2010. 
 Mahindra does sell tractors in the US, but wants to build its name in urban areas, says GenZe CEO Vish Palekar. So in 2012, it set up a small group in <keyword id="116260" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Palo-Alto">Palo Alto</keyword> and told them to come up with a vehicle that would get people around cities more easily. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

Mahindra is debuting in the US market with this product. No, it’s not its iconic SUVs!

After scary <keyword id="8764262" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="covid" source="Orion">Covid</keyword> warnings by almost every agency for the last two years, there’s finally some good news, the World Health Organization said — ‘that an <keyword id="15062230" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="end-is-in-sight-for-Covid" source="Orion">end is in sight for Covid</keyword>. It’s a relief to people wanting to go back to the ‘old ways’ but like many predicted since the pandemic, a lot that has changed will stay on. The pandemic created billionaires out of two <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/gautam-adani-mukesh-ambani-account-for-59-of-indias-top-10-billionaires-wealth/articleshow/94348058.cms">teenagers</a>, who banked on the people wanting to order groceries online. Why didn’t I think of it? <div type="image" title="The pandemic created billionaires out of two teenagers in grocery business" msid="94388134" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;The pandemic created billionaires out of two teenagers in grocery business&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> What has changed, though, is a lot more people have stopped wearing masks as public health experts suggest that COVID-19 has<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/covid-is-endemic-but-its-not-time-yet-to-take-off-that-mask/articleshow/94085484.cms"> become</a> endemic in India. <div type="image" title="People have stopped wearing mask in public places" msid="94388315" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;People have stopped wearing mask in public places&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> But looking beyond the obvious, here are some things which won’t end even after COVID does. Revenge shopping and tourism Revenge shopping continues to remain strong 30 months after India entered its first nationwide COVID-19 lockdown. According to a Business Insider India report, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/online-festival-sales-likely-to-be-28-higher-than-pre-covid-levels-at-11-8-billion-report/articleshow/94076810.cms">online festival sales that Amazon, Flipkart and other retailers are running could touch nearly $12 billion</a> – an increase of 28% over pre-pandemic levels. Apparently, people have enough money on their hands and don’t know of better ways to spend it. People like WFH – and so does the PM The pandemic has made work from home-ers out of everyone. Now, that people have gotten used to working while lying down and chopping vegetables during Zoom calls — they don’t wanna go back. Companies are, however, trying to drag them and it’s gonna be a slow process. Three out of four companies however are considering going hybrid – but India Inc remains divided on the aspect. One thing is for certain, though – WFH is here to stay, even if companies continue to crack down on moonlighting. And it’s got the blessings of PM Modi himself who said it’s a good idea to bring more women into the workforce. Rich get richer, and they hate the poor people moonlighting Thanks to the many stimulus packages, the rich got richer across the world — creating pandemic billionaires like India’s own Gautam Adani — who <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/gautam-adani-mukesh-ambani-account-for-59-of-indias-top-10-billionaires-wealth/articleshow/94348058.cms">added ₹1,612 crore to his wealth every day in the last year</a>. The pandemic was tougher on daily wagers and depleted the savings of many lower middle class and middle class people too. Their situation won’t change soon and neither will the gap between the proletariat and bourgeoisie. <div type="image" title="Migrant labourers during first wave of COVID" height="900" width="1200" msid="94388736" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Migrant labourers during first wave of COVID&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Psst psst – there were also pandemic salary cuts – some were re-instated and some weren’t. The inflation however grew at a sharp place forcing people to take up side hustles and more. And no, no, the rich don’t like it when their employees moonlighting to make some more. Rishad Premji recently <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/information-tech/wipro-fires-300-staff-members-found-to-be-moonlighting-for-competitors/articleshow/94349603.cms">fired</a> 300 employees who were found doing second jobs after slugging it out 9-5 for Wipro. Children lose 2 trillion hours of in-person schooling – and immunity What about the kids? Staying indoors for two years – was trying for parents and kids alike. It’s not just the play time that the kids lost. They lost two precious years of learning too, especially poorer kids who couldn’t get online. A UNICEF<a href="https://data.unicef.org/covid-19-and-children/"> report</a> states that globally, 2 trillion hours of in-person schooling were lost. Another<a href="https://healtheducationresources.unesco.org/library/documents/hidden-impact-covid-19-childrens-education"> </a>UNESCO <a href="https://healtheducationresources.unesco.org/library/documents/hidden-impact-covid-19-childrens-education">report</a> says that the learning levels of children is lower as nearly 1 in 3 parents said they couldn’t support their child’s learning. And they will take a long time to catch up. <div type="image" title="Children lose 2 trillion hours of in-person schooling – and immunity" height="900" width="1200" msid="94388905" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Children lose 2 trillion hours of in-person schooling &amp;#8211; and immunity&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> The kids are also weaker health-wise according to experts – especially the kids below 10 years of age. They had spent their immunity building years as they stayed safe indoors, according to a<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8087417/"> study</a>. Heart ailments and diabetes cases skyrocket in India After playing mind games, COVID is also affecting our hearts. The infection has kicked a lot of people into early diabetes and they also face an increased risk of heart ailments, says a <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/378/bmj.o1838">study</a>. The health issues that it has caused the millions it affected, not including those still suffering from long COVID effects – will also stay on. Demanding movie goers are here to say Where did people get entertainment during the pandemic? Most governments in fact sent messages asking people to ‘stay home and Netflix’. They did, and OTT subscriptions soared. As they did so, they got used to layered stories in web series, subtle allegories and more. Now used to the ‘new-age entertainment’, they don’t want to go back to song and dance routine ‘basic’ movies and want something good enough to pull ‘em off their TVs and tabs. According to analyst reports and trade figures, 15 out of 20 Bollywood movies released in the first half of 2022 have tanked. So much so that producers are confused and Bhushan Kumar of T-Series <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-62145780">said</a> there’s confusion among producers and they don’t know what will and will not work. People want large scale entertainment like RRR, but with a twist. These demanding audiences are not going to go away soon either. <div type="image" title="People want large scale entertainment like RRR, but with a twist" msid="94389873" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;People want large scale entertainment like RRR, but with a twist&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Smaller weddings If people don’t want to step out to a theater without a good reason, they aren’t too keen on inviting unwanted people either. There has been a rush of weddings this year – but because of guest list restrictions and many people not keen on traveling out of town — the Big Fat Indian weddings are smaller. A few millennials and GenZ have caught on this trend too and some prefer it that way. Your dad can’t force you to invite the damad of your mom’s tauji’s cousin sister anymore. Condom sales halve, but where are the pandemic babies? Lack of socializing during COVID lockdowns killed half the sales of condom makers, according to the government’s response to an RTI query recently. While experts feared this would lead to a baby boom, birth rates in India’s financial capital Mumbai<a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/no-baby-boom-mumbai-birth-rate-fell-in-2021/articleshow/92323729.cms"> fell</a> in 2021. Whether it was due to COVID worries or strong pull-out game, either way, experts’ fears did not come true. Here’s hoping that won’t change soon either. Inflation skyrockets – and central banks are struggling to control it Inflation has skyrocketed around the world for multiple reasons – the US flooded the markets with an unprecedented amount of dollars, exporting its inflation all over the world. The supply chain issues worsened the availability of products, while consumers went on a revenue shopping spree post-COVID. This demand and supply imbalance further increased prices – and now<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/race-for-rate-hikes-heres-how-much-central-banks-have-hiked-interest-rates-in-2022/slidelist/94344108.cms"> central banks all over the world are hiking interest rates</a> to bring inflation under control. That means the cheap home loan party might be over – and it won’t go back soon either. <div type="image" title="Inflation has skyrocketed around the world" msid="94389450" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Inflation has skyrocketed around the world&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Supply chain shocks become the norm Supply chain shocks have become the norm in the post-COVID world. China, the factory of the world, has continued with its stringent “Zero COVID” policy and that has hampered plenty of industries around the world. <div type="image" title="Car makers like Mahindra are asking their customers to wait for as long as 16 months for cars like XUV 700" msid="94389477" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Car makers like Mahindra are asking their customers to wait for as long as 16 months for cars like XUV 700&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> The semiconductor chip shortage is the most glaring example, and it has not only affected the electronics industry, but also automobiles – some car makers like Mahindra are asking their customers to wait for as long as 16 months for cars like XUV 700. What is not going to change for you when COVID ends? Here’s hoping your love for getting news online won’t change either!

SIMPLY PUT: What won’t end even after COVID does?

The Indian government is planning to introduce policies that would reduce the price of electric two wheelers in the country, so that they can be equalled to, if not made less expensive than, petrol-driven two-wheelers. 
 
Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Electric-Vehicle-Start-up-Ather-EnergyRaises-1-Million-From-Flipkart/articleshow/45352490.cms">Electric Vehicle Start-up Ather Energy Raises $1 Million From Flipkart</a> 
 
The move is aimed at reducing pollution that the petrol-driven scooters emit from their exhaust-pipe in most polluted Indian cities, which also feature in the list of world’s most polluted cities. 
 
Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Hero-Electric-NYX-on-Paytm/articleshow/52538040.cms">Hero Electric’s new model NYX to be launched on Paytm</a> 
 
A senior official <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/auto/news/centre-to-work-towards-reducing-price-of-electric-two-wheelers/articleshow/53183107.cms">told ET</a> that the <keyword id="554473" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Department-of-Heavy-Industries">department of heavy industries</keyword> has given its approval that a four-member committee be made which would then suggest ways that could help the government increase sales of <keyword id="929646" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="electric-two-wheelers">electric two-wheelers</keyword>. As of now, an electric two-wheeler costs about 1.5 times that of a petrol version. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Mahindra-is-going-green-in-the-US-launches-all-electric-scooter-GenZe/articleshow/50603014.cms">Also read: Mahindra is going green in the US, launches all electric scooter GenZe</a> 
 
"The idea is to bring the industry on board to implement measures which can ensure faster adoption of electric two-wheelers," the official said on condition of anonymity. 
 
While increased sales of electric vehicles will save fossil fuel by about 2.2-2.5 million tonnes, it would also help keep a check on vehicular emissions while decreasing carbon dioxide by up to 1.5% by 2020. 
 
The committee, while suggesting ways to make place for charging infrastructure, will also suggest steps helpful in lowering the price of batteries and components. 
 
It was in the end of 2010 that the government had first offered a helping hand to the electric vehicle industry, when the new and renewable energy ministry announced a Rs 95-crore incentive scheme for e-vehicle manufacturers. Import duty on batteries was also brought down from 26% to 4%. 
 
<a href="http://vinuthomas.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/S340-Electric-Smart-Scooter-CG-Render.png">Image source</a>

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