The Coronavirus is the most severe pandemic that has hit the world in modern times. It’s had more of an impact than previous fast spreading diseases and has led to an almost universal lockdown across the majority of the world. This has affected everything from production lines to the most favourite online casinos in India. How deeply has the Coronavirus impacted on business in India and can it make a recovery once everything is over?
Current Impacts
At the moment, some Indian businesses have managed to circumvent the lockdown. This is because measures have been put in place to allow certain businesses the ability to continue trading during the lockdown. An example of this is the IT service industry. India provides a lot of back-office operations for other companies around the world.
These companies ceasing to operate would cause a huge chain reaction of other companies stopping their trade as well. So, India has allowed many of these companies to keep working despite the strict 21-day lockdown that’s currently in place.
The companies have put measures in place that give their employees the opportunity to work from home. This means that many Indian employees are working remotely from their own home in order to ensure that this global infrastructure doesn’t collapse.
This particular area of business is seen as the most vital link in the chain of the Indian economy. Due to these measures being put in place, it means that India might be impacted at a lower level than other countries once the crisis is over.
It hasn’t all been positive news for Indian businesses though. The lockdown has left vast swathes of people, mainly migrants, stranded and without anything to eat. There have been more than ten migrant deaths within India so far, all directly caused by the lockdown.
This is because the lockdown extends to all essential businesses and businesses that cannot be operated remotely. The consequences of this decision instantly removed the income stream of many people. This left them without a job and without anywhere to live. Non-essential businesses within the country can see themselves going out of business before the crisis is over. On top of that, they may also struggle to entice workers to their business due to the way people have been treated at this time.
Not everything is so terrible though – there are some businesses that are actually gaining from the situation. As stated above, the online casinos in India are affected too – but in a good way. There is an increase in traffic and deposits as people are looking for things to do home. That includes businesses of e-commerce – we can see an increase in traffic there too.
The Coronavirus is leaving a mark on the businesses of India, but what does it mean for the future?
Possibilities in the future
At the moment, the future is relatively difficult to predict. There are two main reasons for this. The first is that no-one knows when this is all going to end. There’s still no definitive proof that having the virus creates immunity, which means that it could just keep cycling from person to person indefinitely. If that’s the case, it could lead to an even longer-term lockdown, not just in India but across the world. There’s also no clear cut proof in regards to how the virus was initially spread which makes it harder to track.
Secondly, no-one knows how many businesses will be able to survive until the end of the lockdown period. With the vast majority of revenue removed from these businesses and no guarantee that their bills will be frozen, they could end up in a situation where they are unable to continue to trade.
In regard to this second point, there are two potential outcomes that could happen from lots of businesses ceasing to trade. The first is that unemployment rises significantly after the crisis is over, leaving the country in a poor state. The second is a more positive outcome. It could lead to more people setting up new businesses and boosting the number of available jobs due to new gaps in the market.
Whatever happens in the future, it’s important not to panic and try to attempt to deal with it in the calmest way possible.