Private Industry is Quietly Laying the Foundation for India’s Future Amidst the COVID-19 Storm

“When India speaks of self-reliance, it does not advocate a self-centered system. In India’s self-reliance there is a concern for the whole world’s happiness, cooperation and peace,” – inspiring words by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing the nation this Tuesday.

He announced a 20 lakh crore economic package as India’s response towards battling the pandemic of COVID-19 and also as a cornerstone towards his aspirations of an ‘Atma-nirbhar Bharat’.

The Indian private sector seems to be inline with the Government’s ideologies and they are coming up with innovative solutions to not only curtail the effect of the Coronavirus but to also to lay a solid ground for India’s future in the times to come.

1. Education

Education is the backbone of any civilization, community or a country. At a time when schools and colleges are forced to shut down, these edtech apps are not only enabling them to function from the comfort of their homes but are also upskilling the work-force so that they can stay relevant to the demands of the current situation.

EduBrisk
EduBrisk, a brain-friendly educational solutions platform for schools and students has started a ‘Classroom to Virtual Classroom’ program that enables schools and freelance teachers to go live within 24 hours. They have invested in high-quality human resources to start this education program in India and have on-boarded 30 schools since the lockdown period. They are also planning to on-board 150 more schools within the span of next 2 months. GD Goenka Public School-Siliguri, QMS Schools-Kolkata, St Peters- Ernakulam, Al Ameen Public School-Kochi etc are a few examples of the schools taking virtual classes using EduBrisk’s platform.

IntelliPaat
IntelliPaat, an online professional training courses & certification platform is providing 12 free IT courses on their platform. The courses appeal to the youngsters looking for a bright career in the IT field and the ones who cannot afford expensive professional courses. They provide various learning/skill-building courses in Data Science, AI, Web Technologies, Cloud computing etc at a very nominal rate and also provide a certification that is valid across the globe.

2. Logistics

Logistics is the lifeline of any economy. It is responsible for the movement of raw materials, goods, agricultural products or even normal food deliveries. So, when the entire country is facing the lockdown these logistic players have stepped up the occasion in order to meet the daily requirements of the country, some have even altered their business models for doing so.

Lalamove
Lalamove, an on-demand logistics company is offering an uninterrupted service to the FMCG Companies where they are free to choose multiple locations and vendors at one go. The merchant or user of the Lalamove platform can add up to 20 drop-off points in a delivery order. They have tied up with FMCG brands like Marico Ltd, Amazon, Coca Cola, Tata Consumer Services, Himalaya, Godrej Consumer Products, UdaanFresh, UdaanMeat and Licious for meeting their delivery requirements.

72 Networks
72 Networks; a PAN India distribution house specializing in last-mile delivery is reaching out to rural areas for deliveries of COVID-19 protection kits & other essential items. They are delivering items like PPE Coverall, PPE – Gloves, Googles & Masks, PPE Kit, IR Thermometer, Sanitizer Spray, Anti-fog Face Shield, Biofresh Hand Sanitizer and Microtouch Nitrile Gloves across states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal,  Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa.

3. Technology/Solution Providers

Desperate situations call for desperate measures and Indian IT & Tech industry has always been known for their product deliveries and innovative solutions. The COVID-19 pandemic has enabled them to create out of the box solutions that can revolutionise the future.

Ameyo
Ameyo, an Omnichannel Customer Engagement Technology provider has launched a video-based KYC for businesses to eliminate the need for physical KYC. The product is based on the latest RBI guidelines issued in Jan 2020. Their video KYC is an end-to-end solution with omnichannel capabilities of scheduling and reminding customers to complete the KYC process thus enabling brands to reduce the drop-offs by 20%.

OxyGarden
OxyGarden has introduced India's first Air Sanitizer that purifies and humidifies air naturally. Their patent-pending technology helps maintain the recommended ideal relative humidity levels for building an environment with the help of controlled transpiration in plants, innovative aerated growing medium and controlled photosynthesis with the help of automated airflow and growing lights.

4. Events/Awards

The sheer presence of crowd and energy is the soul of any event or award function. Though the original structure is not dying anytime soon but the COVID-19 has certainly forced the organisers to look for an alternate option.

Digital Jalebi
Digital Jalebi, an experiential design studio, has added a new dimension to their business model of creating virtual events in order to help the events/marketing companies to survive the pandemic. They have built an experiential platform to recreate how experience happens in the real world without the need for users to get out of the comfort of their homes. The platform is web based and runs on any browser of laptop and mobile phones.