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<ul><li>While <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid-19">Covid-19</keyword> is sure to transform the way the world learns and works, business leaders must remember that this is not a one-off crisis, writes <keyword id="198964" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Suvodeep-Das">Suvodeep Das</keyword>, Vice President – Sales &amp; Marketing, <keyword id="6409110" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="sodexo">Sodexo</keyword> Benefits &amp; Rewards India. </li><li>He further shares a few ways in which technology can be the unlikely saviour for entrepreneurs.</li></ul> Epidemics, on the other side of the world, are a threat to us all. No epidemic is just local. -Peter Piot, Belgian Microbiologist 2020 – a new year, a new decade, marking the beginning of a much-anticipated new era in technology and digitalization! Little did we know what was about to unfurl, not in the distant future, but a brief span. What started as flu in China has spread faster than any disease in the modern era, WHO declared it a <a href="https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020">pandemic</a> on 11th March. Within two days, WHO had also come up with guidelines to control the transmission of the disease. Quarantines of suspected cases and social isolation of the general public are topmost on the list of ‘things to do.’ As of date, more than 50+ countries have implemented a nationwide shutdown. In India itself, the central government has laid down the <a href="https://www.mohfw.gov.in/SocialDistancingAdvisorybyMOHFW.pdf">guidelines</a>, and most states are in a state of partial shutdown. Educational institutions, malls, movie houses, stores except those selling essential commodities – all have been closed. People have been advised to stay home and venture out only when they must. The economy is much more fragile than we realize. The result has been deadly for the global economy as well, not because of the virus itself, but because of its consequences. Quarantines and isolation mean no travel, no stepping out, no eating out, and no outside entertainment, i.e., no spending. Already wobbling from the impact of a prolonged recession, entire industries are on the brink of collapse. The stock markets are seeing new depths every single day; the Sensex, for example, has gone down by 10,000 points in just one month. While the most obvious impact has been on the travel and hospitality sector, almost all industries are reeling from the continuing shock. Restaurants, malls, shops, gyms, and even factories are shutting down. Technology is the unlikely savior. In this time of mandated social distancing, the only way out for businesses is to transfer their services to the internet; after all, this is one virus that can’t spread online. The digital economy is the best way out for a world that is becoming more and more threatened every day. Organizations that have chosen to go digital for their day-to-day activities are the ones that can maintain some semblance of normalcy and help reduce the ‘spread’ of the disease. <ol><li>Physical currency is one of the most common modes of catching or passing on any virus, using digital payments will go a long way in limiting the spread as people will not need to touch any currency.</li><li>Digital employee benefits like gift cards, meal cards, etc. have worked as an alternative to currency as well, ensuring that even when people are working from home, they can use their benefits, be it for food, groceries or online shopping.</li><li>Quite a few organizations in the country have advocated Working from Home (WFH) using Video conferencing, choosing to conduct business as usual, albeit in a different mode. A lot of schools and colleges have also refused to bow down to the virus; using the remote classroom concept instead. </li><li>A lot of companies have invested in shared drives so that it doesn’t put additional pressure on email infrastructure; even more so for teams used to working with massive files.</li><li>Since companies need to take some extra steps to motivate teams working remotely, especially for ones who are used to only working together, instant, digital rewards programs that can be given remotely, every day will be a powerful tool.</li></ol>While Covid-19 is sure to transform the way the world learns and works, business leaders must remember that this is not a one-off crisis. In a world with rapidly shrinking boundaries, an epidemic/crisis in even the furthest corner of the world is likely to have an adverse impact on ours. Learning from the current crisis and staying prepared for the next one is the only way to overcome any disaster of this magnitude. - By Suvodeep Das, Vice President – Sales &amp; Marketing, Sodexo Benefits &amp; Rewards India.

Technology: The way out for businesses during Coronavirus outbreak

New Delhi, Apr 17 () Banking and financial stocks were in high demand on Friday, advancing up to 21 per cent after the Reserve Bank announced a host of liquidity-boosting measures to support the economy amid the coronavirus crisis. Axis Bank zoomed 13.45 per cent, ICICI Bank rose by 9.89 per cent, IndusInd Bank 9.13 per cent, Federal Bank 9 per cent, City Union Bank 5.39 per cent and Kotak Mahindra Bank 4.96 per cent on the BSE. Axis Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack. Also, HDFC Bank jumped 3.33 per cent, RBL Bank 3.22 per cent and SBI 2.49 per cent. Led by the rally in these scrips, the BSE Bank index rose by 6.83 per cent. Likewise, from the finance pack, Equitas Holdings zoomed 21.15 per cent, Shriram Transport Finance Company 20 per cent, J&amp;K Bank 19.95 per cent, Indiabulls Housing Finance 17.61 per cent, Dhanlaxmi Bank 17.51 per cent, DCB Bank 16.54 per cent, Ujjivan Financial Services 14.54 per cent and Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company 11.33 per cent. The BSE Finance index gained 5.44 per cent. "Given the unprecedented times we are in, it is heartening that RBI is addressing all these challenges at a war footing. We believe the key measures announced by RBI will help inject the much needed liquidity in the system, facilitate and incentivise credit flow and provide flexibility on regulatory forbearance. Markets are in buying zone," according to Motilal Oswal, MD and CEO of Motilal Oswal Financial Services. In the broader market, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 986.11 points or 3.22 per cent higher at 31,588.72. "The RBI's announcement has correctly focused on the financial sector, specifically the NBFCs. However, given the current macro conditions, we need to watch how the banks utilize the various windows and options given by the RBI to assess whether credit growth increases and the extent of support that the NBFC sector gets," said Suvodeep Rakshit, Vice President and Senior Economist, Kotak Institutional Equities. The RBI on Friday further eased bad-loan rules, froze dividend payment by lenders and pushed banks to lend more by cutting the reverse repo rate by 25 basis points, as it unveiled the second set of measures to support the economy hit hard by the coronavirus-led slowdown. In his second televised address since the nationwide lockdown began from March 25, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das pledged to boost liquidity and expand bank credit. Other interest rate-sensitive indices like auto and realty also closed with significant gains. "NBFCs are clear beneficiaries of these measures. For investors in banks, the provision of higher liquidity and relaxation in provisioning norms are welcome, but the bar on dividend distribution and new provisioning norms are negatives for the time being. "While the RBI is doing its part in providing reliefs in the current times, the street could keep expecting more and there could also be some concern about the time it would take for these measures to have an impact at the ground level," said Deepak Jasani - Head Retail Research, HDFC Securities. SUM ABMABM

Banking, financial stocks zoom up to 21 pc after RBI lift

New Delhi, Dec 5 () Rate-sensitive bank and auto stocks fell on Thursday while realty companies largely depicted a mixed trend after the Reserve Bank surprised with its decision to hold key policy rates.
Among bank stocks, IndusInd Bank fell 2.21 per cent, RBL Bank 1.95 per cent, SBI 1.65 per cent, Yes Bank 1.51 per cent, Axis Bank 1.39 per cent, Federal Bank 1.25 per cent, HDFC Bank 0.50 per cent, Kotak Mahindra Bank 0.46 per cent and ICICI Bank 0.27 per cent on the BSE.
The BSE Bank index closed at 36,147.31, down 0.76 per cent.
The Reserve Bank on Thursday unexpectedly hit a pause button on cutting interest rate as it gave more importance to prevailing inflation pressure and rising food prices over a worrying slowdown in the economy.
After five consecutive cuts in interest rates this year, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, unanimously voted to hold the key repo rate at 5.15 per cent and reverse repo rate at 4.90 per cent.
Among auto companies, Tata Motors skidded 1.95 per cent, Hero MotoCorp 1.76 per cent, Ashok Leyland 1.42 per cent, Motherson Sumi Systems 1.17 per cent, Maruti Suzuki India 0.99 per cent, Bajaj Auto 0.71 per cent, M&amp;M 0.37 per cent and TVS Motor Company 0.08 per cent.
 Tracking weakness in these scrips, the BSE auto index settled 0.64 per cent lower at 17,810.17.
 "RBI's decision to keep policy rates unchanged was a surprise, especially after indicating in the last policy that growth was a bigger concern and reducing the FY 2020 GDP growth estimate to 5 per cent," said Suvodeep Rakshit, Vice President &amp; Sr Economist, Kotak Institutional Equities. 
 Realty index was mixed at the closing bell. Shares of Phoenix Mills fell 2.64 per cent, Sunteck Realty 1.70 per cent, Mahindra Lifespace Developers 1.59 per cent, Godrej Properties 0.19 per cent, Indiabulls Real Estate 0.16 per cent and Prestige Estates Projects 0.09 per cent.
 In contrast, Oberoi Realty gained 2.75 per cent, Sobha 0.59 per cent, Omaxe 0.42 per cent and DLF 0.39 per cent.
 The realty index closed at 2,198.50, up 0.20 per cent.
 HDFC Securities MD &amp; CEO Dhiraj Relli said, "Though the stock market participants could be disappointed by the no-repo-rate-cut action, we think that the participants are mature enough to understand the prudence of the Central Bank which means that the markets may not react downwards sharply due to this disappointment."
In the broader market, the 30-share BSE gauge Sensex was lower by 70.70 points or 0.17 per cent to close at 40,779.59. 
"It was an unexpected move with the RBI keeping the repo rate unchanged at 5.15 per cent, as the market expected 25 bps (basis points) cut in repo rate," Deepthi Mary Mathew, Economist at Geojit Financial Services said.
"Given the growth-inflation dynamics, we still sense that RBI will deliver a rate cut of 25bps in February policy meeting given the widespread deceleration in the economy," Amar Ambani, Head of Research - Institutional Equities, YES Securities said. SUM


 
 
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Technology: The way out for businesses during Coronavirus outbreak

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Banking, financial stocks zoom up to 21 pc after RBI lift

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Rate-sensitive bank, auto stocks fall as RBI surprises with status quo

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