Impact Archives - TODAY INDIA

COVID-19’s Impact on the Economy of India

The Covid-19 epidemic is one of the major disasters in the history of pandemics. The impact of corona virus pandemic is very disturbing and it has spared no one with its ill effects. There has been a major increase in the death rates across the world. Not only people are losing their loved ones but they are also losing their jobs and their source of income. Economic activities of more than 100 countries have been affected and some of the countries have even asked for monetary help from IMF.

Impact on Economy of India:

India is a developing economy and after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced 21 day lockdown for the safety of people, the country has observed a high unemployment and economic depression. India has observed a great decrease in growth of the income and government revenues as the novel corona virus hits economic activities of India as a whole. According to a recent study the country has observed a job loss of 40 million people, majorly in the unorganized sectors.

Schools and colleges have been shut down; sports events such as IPL are postponed, businesses across the world like entertainment, hospitality, aviation, restaurants, hotels, pubs, malls, transport and factories have also faced major negative impacts in terms of their economy. Due to the fear of corona virus people were not going out of their houses even to buy daily necessary items, all these have somewhere contributed in affecting the economy.

There has been a cut in the global growth from 2.9% to 2.4%, and it may fall as low as 1.5% according to the Organization for Economic Co- Operation and Development (OECD).

The lockdown in India will have a major impact on the consumption level which is the main element of GDP. There will be a disruption of global trade and supply chain this will majorly affect the countries that are strong exporters and also those countries which are importers.

Total electronic import of India is equal to 45% that of China. India imports approximately two-fifths of organic chemicals and one-third of machinery from China along with automotive parts and fertilizers.
Also approximately 90% of mobiles and 65% to 70% of active pharmaceutical ingredients are imported from China to India.

There will be an expected global trade fall up to 32% in the year 2020 according to the World Trade Organization (WT0).

Sectorial Impacts:

Labour sector:

This sector is the worst impacted as most of the labourers lost their jobs as most of them were engaged in construction companies and were daily wage works.
Quarantine and travelling restrictions have left Indian factories short of labours.
The country has seen people moving from urban areas to rural areas.

Restaurants:

According to the NRAI which represents may restaurants have advised its restaurants to shut down. Also all the restaurants, clubs, pubs, cafes have been shut down according to the orders by the government. Also orders on online food delivery platforms such as zomato and swiggy have experienced a major fall of about 60% during the pandemic.

Food and Agriculture:

This sector contributes majorly in GDP to the employment sector. The supply of food and agriculture products such as dairy products, edible oils and cereals will be highly affected this year.
The Agro- chemical companies which deal with the import of raw materials and export for finished goods will also be affected.
The online food grocery also suffers a great loss due to the lack of delivery vehicles.
There has been a major loss in the consumer demand for commodities such as sea food, grapes and mangoes.

Online business:

This sector contributes 10% to the Indian GDP and its major segments are healthcare, household and personal care products, and food and beverage sector.
Due to the fear of corona virus people are avoiding to stock essential commodities such as rice, flour and lentils due to which their is rise in the sales of FMCG companies which saw it fall in trade due to disrupted chain supply.

MSME:

This sector contributes 305 to 35% to the Indian GDP. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Madhya Pradesh have the highest number of registered MSME’S according to an estimated study by AIMO a quarter of over 75 million is facing closure and if the closure still continues for four weeks then if will affect the employment of 114 million people affecting the GDP.
Garments, consumers goods, logistics have faced a decrease in the business and the MSMEs engaged is still functioning but is likely to isolate due to the purchasing capacity and plunging liquidity constraints.
Since most of the MSMEs depend on the loan funding from the government, there has been a relief since the RBI had announced a three months repayments of loans and reduction in the repo rate.

Stated above are some of the negative impacts that the corona virus has on the economy of India. But this pandemic has all taught us many things. Many Multi National Companies have now shifted from physical to online platforms. People have now started working from home. The digital world got a push during this pandemic as people have now started using apps like PayTM, Google pay for the payment instead of using cash. The schools and colleges have now started operating online on zoom meeting, Google meets and Google classrooms. Students are now able to access their assignments online and they can now give their exams online through various platforms. This crisis also highlighted the importance of investing in technologies and such as cloud data, self service capabilities, e-business, e-governance and cyber security.

This pandemic has also made us realize that we should never forget to appreciate what we have in our lives and we should never forget to thank god for the lives that we have. At CSS Founder, we aim to provide businesses with our world-class assistance, at minimal fee. Our team of professionals aim to help businesses grow despite the serious impact of the pandemic.

Japanese Gambaru – Literal Meaning and Cultural Impact

The word Gambaru in Japanese means doing one’s best and hanging on to the bitter end. This means that students gambaru study hard to pass exams, athletes gambaru practice hard to wins games, and company workers gambaru work hard to increase sales. It also means to work hard or patiently, to insist on having one’s way, and to occupy one place and never leave, as in relation to working on a job or at a place of employment. Gambaru is also rooted in the following proverb, “The monk who does not work should not eat.”

There is an imperative form of “gambaru, which is Gambare or Gambette. The imperative term connotes high achievement, motivation, and orientation to group harmony. The term is also used among members to encourage others in group activity.

The Japanese people use the term gambare quite often and for various reasons. They normally use the term at least once per day with saying good-bye and also at the ending of a letter. The Japanese also use this expression to encourage one another with the implication of “Please keep up your hard work until your goal is achieved.”

The term is also used in many situations as a form of expression. The Japanese may use the expression in the initial states of a project. For example:

a) After the earthquake in Kobe, Japan, the slogan Gambare Kobe was used to encourage the people of Kobe to reconstruct their city and rebuild their lives.

b) Japanese people also use the expression among group members to encourage one another in cooperative activities. For example, during track and field days at school, children can be heard shouting “gambare” or “gambatte” to encourage their friends in the race.

c) Japanese people also use the expression as spectators to cheer on their team. For example, in the 1998 World Cup soccer match held in France, the Japanese spectators cheered the slogan Gambare Nippon! During the championship, the slogan was used on TV programs and commercials every day.

The literal meaning of gambaru is “to adhere to something with tenacity.” It is a very popular term used when encouraging someone undertaking a very difficult task. Additional meanings are: Hang in there, Don’t give up, Do your best, and Give it your all! The term also means work hard and patiently. Additionally, it exhorts enthusiasm and hard work from others.

Gamburu also has some additional meaning, some of which could be considered as negative connotations. Based on the denotation form of the word, it also means “to insist on having one’s ways,” and “to occupy one place and never leave.” Additionally, the word is derived from ga-o-haru, which means “to be self-willed.” This expression originally had a negative connotation of asserting oneself against group decisions and norms.

One may ask if other languages have the equivalent of gambari. According to Amanuma (1987, pp. 51-53), gambari, which is derived from gambaru, does not have any exact equivalent in non-Japanese languages. Additionally, Amanuma states, “Even though both Chinese and Korean have the characters that make up gambaru (gambari is derived from gambaru), they do not have expressions that possess the same nuances. This suggests that gambaru is an expression that is unique to Japan and expresses certain qualities of the Japanese character.

There are various proverbs that may show a difference between Japanese culture and American culture as it relates to the virtues of Gambaru. One proverb based on Japanese culture states, “The monk who does not work should not eat.” This speaks to the fact that one must work and that through working one is able to live. The Japanese did not take into account play or free time in this proverb, unlike Americas in the following proverb.

Alternatively, an American proverb states, “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.” This implies that one does not have to work but rest and play. It places play and work in the same category, and on the same level which equate to virtue. The account of play in this proverb gives the Japanese a feeling of uneasiness regarding the virtues of Gambaru in American terms.

Submitted by “Epulaeryu Master.”

How to Create Big Impact Trade Show Display Booths to Get the Big Money

Having a trade show display with the WOW factor can make a huge difference to the profitability of your trade show expo, especially if you’re new to the circuit and want to make a big splash.

It takes preparation and research to achieve this. You need to clearly outline the image you want for your business, how it is to be communicated, what impact you want for your customers and industry colleagues.

Starting from a well planned out and designed position you’ll look like an established business. With a carefully and professionally design trade show display booth you’ll be also able to scoop the show’s display awards and be able to use this for your marketing campaigns too.

So when you’re starting out you need to carefully select the business name so it fits with the marketing strategy and works for you in all aspects of the campaign. The business name also needs to be able to work online for you and be available so your internet marketing strategy supports your overall marketing strategy.

Usually there’s about a 12 – 18 month planning phase before the big trade show launch so product, design, branding and marketing is in place to allow a comprehensive and complete image at the expo.

Another key point to work on is the trade show promotions – the take away post cards, business cards, catalogues and bags. Make sure there’s space to write notes on all cards, flyers and brochures for customers as many do a walking lap on their first day, gather ideas and take notes about ideas on promotional material. If the card stock is glossy or black then it is next to impossible for your potential customers to write their notes and this frustrates them – something you don’t need to do.

The website needs to carry through the same branding image and message as the trade show display booth and promotional materials with the look and feel.

Getting advice from professionals can make all the difference for cutting down the time lost through learning tough lessons on your own. Having a stand builder to design the trade show display from a carefully considered design specification for a custom built stand can instantly create the impact of an established business.

To achieve all this you do need to be well capitalised and funded as it does take 18 months- 2 years before you start getting a positive cashflow. So careful financial planning is mandatory for success because many very good businesses are lost and fail each year because of a lack of cashflow and being under capitalised. So be sensible with your financial planning.

The value of putting a lot of effort into your trade show display stand is more people stop to look, increasing the visibility and orders placed, to promote the brand through a consistent image and many trade show businesses reward winning exhibitors with a big discount on their next trade show booth rental.

A well designed portable trade show booth needs to be designed so it can fit in different configurations and layouts. This lets you have more choice and flexibility for stand location within an expo hall. This is vital for the design of the booth so you can get as much use out of it as possible so it pays for itself quickly.

This method of trade show marketing can be done for well financed new businesses or to reinvent and reinvigorate an established business that needs a breath of fresh air to prosper.

The key to success is careful, creative and intelligent planning for marketing and financials. Do your research and understand your business. Make sure you have the financial buffers for lessons learned the hard way and take advice from professionals you know what their motivations are.

Small Business Support Has Big Impact

Standing in front of the crowd at the recent Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards luncheon, I was awed to see so many supporters of the small business community.

This support is exactly what we need to help boost the economy as we continue to watch the Dow Jones Industrial Average fluctuate and read bleak business headlines on a daily basis.

Small businesses and organizations, such as the Northwest Indiana Small Business Development Center, need our support now more than ever. By backing entrepreneurs, we encourage economic activity, creating an increase in production levels and spurring businesses to add jobs. These new employees will spend their earned wages on goods and services that are produced by these firms, further adding to production levels. This cycle continues, prompting additional economic growth. Likewise, any reduction in small business support will decrease overall economic activity and can shrink the overall economy.

But why is it vital to focus on small businesses and not the larger companies? It’s these small companies that continue to adapt and change and grow.

Research by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy shows that small businesses create most of the nation’s net new jobs. It also revealed that small businesses are 13 times more innovative, and they bring dynamic ideas and fresh products to the marketplace.

It is this innovative mindset that landed Terry Daniel and Lou Pringle of Exhaust Productions Inc. in the limelight. The entrepreneurs were honored with the 2008 Small Business Person of the Year Award at this year’s luncheon. When manufacturing started to shift to China, the team decided to switch gears by moving into the performance motorcycle industry and Rush Racing products.

By taking the time to recognize companies, such as Exhaust Productions Inc., the Northwest Indiana SBDC is continuing to foster the development of small businesses and spotlight the entrepreneurial spirit. It is our mission to have a positive and measurable impact on the formation and growth of small businesses in the region and state. We have workshops, one-on-one consulting, referrals, training and other essential business tools to help guide small business owners toward success.

The entrepreneur is a risk-taker. It takes courage to make the leap, which is why community support and resources, such as the NWI SBDC, can make such a big difference.