Impact Of Covid-19 On Business In India

The Covid-19 pandemic has marked its monstrous footprints over the entire globe and across all spectrums of society.
It has pushed into debt countless businesses, broken into pieces the dreams of entrepreneurs and derailed the prospects of, thus far, successful organisations.
From Businesses and sports to artists and employees, the virus has duped everybody of happiness.
It stopped the world and applied brakes to the evolving Indian entrepreneurial sector.
There's a negative sentiment in the markets and, even a sliver of hope gets appreciated with full vigour.
However, problems are the key to innovation, and many businesses have used technology to overcome the daunting hurdles.
In this article, we try to emulate the state of Businesses before and after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Business Perspective Before The Pandemic

It is not that the pre-covid world was perfect. Even then, businesses were facing incalculable issues and the system of grievance redressal was ridden with inconsistencies.
In a universe full of established brands, it was arduous for a small business to make a place of its own.
For a well-known name in the industry, upscaling its operations while maintaining a healthy workforce used to be the main goal.
A bad day in terms of sales did not mean the end of the road, for there was always this hope of tomorrow being better.
There were the least disruptions to the supply chain before the arrival of Covid.
The transport system was working fine, and there were hardly any hindrances in the regular arrival of goods.
Businesses were optimistic about the government initiated reforms, and the monthly sales target was achievable with both upside and downside margins.

An Industry-Wise Overview

The top ventures included food chains, banquets, hotels, wedding planners, lifestyle services, grocery stores, event management, etc. while living on the sidelines were the people involved in software development, technology innovation, e-commerce, etc.
Though the digital integration had begun, there was still some amount of insecurity looming around it.
Traditional business owners were hesitant to sell their products through online modes and found cash to be the ideal way of transacting in their shops.
Online food ordering applications were gradually finding a place in the lives of people while attracting prospective investors.
The cinema hall owners also enjoyed good profits with the improving content and single-screens were not far behind.
Online streaming platforms were beginning to grow as the common man preferred spending time in the theatre to lighten up his mood than streaming on the phone.
Travel business was flourishing with new startups consistently bracing the field.
Biggest gainers were the people involved in the automobile industry with a regularly rising demand for four-wheelers and two-wheelers.
Though there were issues about GST and government clearances, it was still in the hands of business owners to run their firm as per their wishes.
Little did anyone know that things were going to change in the blink of an eye.

After The Arrival Of Covid-19

With the sudden imposition of a complete and strict nationwide lockdown due to the virus, every business owner was left flabbergasted.
They could not be at their firm to carry out operations, and life got completely changed.
What covid did is that flipped the entire system altogether and turned everything upside down.
Transport had halted, industrial activities were shut and, even the supply-chain of essential services was disrupted.
Though it looked like an equal lockdown for all types of organisations, it was not.
Small Businesses suffered the most since they lacked long term monetary backing.
Those involved in the retail trade of clothes and ornaments were done and dusted for the time being since theirs was a business where physical presence was paramount.
Street vendors had nothing left, and small grocery stores found it tough to get ample supplies.
Since Businesses are run based on trust, which sometimes comes in the form of credit purchases, it became tough to recover the dues from customers during the pandemic because of their financial condition also being weak.
The non-recovery of outstanding payments further led to their liquidity crunch.
On the other hand, medium and large enterprises were somewhat capable of coping with the disaster.
Due to a drastic reduction in demand, the automobile industry also faced music, but, since they operated on a large scale, they were able to survive.
Construction activities were banned, and the builders had no source of income left.
Their ongoing projects could not get completed on time leading to imminent losses.
One of the harshest impacts of the pandemic was suffered by the startups involved in various fields.
At an early stage, they had to deal with a whopping nightmare.
It would not be wrong to say that sales were nil for the time during the complete lockdown, be it any type of business.
Restaurants were closed and, as a result, food ordering applications had nothing in their hands.
Since markets were closed, e-commerce platforms got impacted negatively.
Film shoots were shut and so were cinema halls.
Where multiplexes could steer through for a stretched period, the single-screen theatres could not, resulting in the shutting down of thousands of them across the country.
More than the primary businesses, it was the micro ancillary firms that were dying a slow death.
While salaries were cut, by almost every organisation, Micro and Small businesses had no money left to pay any of it.
Weddings were banned, and so were large gatherings hence, banquet owners and wedding planners had to deal with a frozen operation phase.
Several small business owners had their entrepreneurial journey cut short because of the unimaginable hurdles posed by the pandemic.

Businesses That Grabbed The Opportunity During COVID

As mentioned earlier, the pandemic had turned the tables.
Businesses that were creeping on the sidelines had the chance to change their fortunes.
Since physical contacts were almost forbidden, cash had become a thing of the past, and digital payment providers got an even bigger opportunity than what they had during demonetisation, to expand their reach.
The usage of e-cash was pushed forward by the government and, seeing the demand, traditional cash seekers had to allow online payments at their shops.
QR codes for accepting payments were visible at every store when the lockdown was getting lifted partially, and small grocery shops were the first ones to, wholeheartedly accept the new normal.
Insurance companies, snuffing an opportunity, also promoted their health policies with enthusiasm for it was the right time to do so.
Software development firms gained an edge while providing cutting edge applications to break the boredom of staying at home.
Many salon owners started offering services directly to home with complete sanitation measures.
E-commerce platforms promoted no-contact deliveries to emphasise on physical distancing.
It was time to adapt to the new changes posed by the pandemic and consistently look for improvements.

Impact Of Covid-19 On Business Environment In India

Though the pandemic tested everybody's patience, many could not withstand the challenges and had to give up on their dreams.
Small businesses, which were already suffering from the evils of corruption and administrative failures, had another enemy to beat which was a copious task to accomplish.
What enterprises have learned from the Coronavirus pandemic is the need to have alternatives for punishing situations like these.
Rather than being rigid and complacent in embracing new technologies, there is a need to accept them with both hands.
Innovative ideas should be promoted, and contingency funds must be looked at.
An imperative need is to be financially strong so that upcoming hurdles get only a limited chance to impact your organisation.
Moreover, one should be aware of the things happening around the globe, because prevention is more important than cure.

Also Read:

1) Best COVID-19 Lessons For Small Business Sectors of India
2) Coronavirus Tax Relief for Small Businesses
3) Best investment ideas during the COVID-19 pandemic
4) Top-10 Future-Proof Business Ideas for 2021 and Beyond