EXPERT'S NOTE

Business 'not' as usual: Reimagination to acceleration

The past three months have been a time to introspect and also review plans for the future amidst unprecedented scenarios. As India and most of the world entered the lockdown in March, a few of us could anticipate the way the world around us is changing. Although the pandemic has posed a severe challenge for the health care industry, all the other businesses have been affected due to the risks posed to the ‘business-as-usual’ scenario. Almost all industries and commercial establishments have been forced to adopt unprecedented steps, and it has taken us three months to have some normalcy back in our lives. At the same time, the risks are not over - both for the health Dr Rahul Walawalkar of individuals as well as for the health of the economy. President – IESA Given the current crisis, experts are suggesting many of Managing Director – CES India the initiatives led by the government and private sector will have to be reimagined or at least pushed back. While others, including our core team, believe this is an opportunity and that business-as-usual is no longer acceptable. We have to step up and be prepared to accelerate the pace of adoption towards a sustainable ecosystem. This would require, in some cases, for us to re-evaluate the over-reliance on global supply chains, as Prime Minister Modi outlined in his call for Atma Nirbhar Bharat. This does not mean that we need to go in a shell, but we definitely need to stop thinking about cost as the only parameter for such decisions. The way the world economy and supply chains were disrupted, many nations are realizing that we need diversification and alternative options for the manufacturing ecosystem instead of completely relying on China as the global hub. We do anticipate China to remain a key part of the supply chain for decades to come, but there is a great opportunity for India as well The way the world as many other countries to shore up domestic manufacturing, so that economy does not come to standstill if another pandemic hits economy and supply us in the future. chains were disrupted, This is a tough time for Indian business leaders. On one hand many nations are many are facing challenges due to disruption of labor and logistics, realizing that we need resulting in challenges of managing cash flows. At the same time, almost all experts agree that this is a temporary disruption and all diversification and other underlying factors still suggest that India would resume the alternative options growth story or accelerate it once we tackle this challenge. for the manufacturing The short break has opened our eyes to clearer skies and cleaner water. We anticipate that this experience could result in a faster ecosystem instead of transition towards clean energy and e-mobility solutions. The Indian completely relying on government has also added solar and battery manufacturing as new China as the global hub. champion sectors. With this, we are now anticipating the launch of the National Mission for Battery Manufacturing with an ambitious target of 50GWh advanced chemistry cell manufacturing in the coming weeks. India Energy Storage Alliance has also stepped up the efforts for skill development through the launch of a new learning platform for IESA Academy and has adopted the digital pathway to continue building coalitions for achieving our mission. I hope that all of our readers are staying safe and staying engaged. I am sure, together, we will emerge much stronger and better prepared to transform India into a global hub for advanced technologies in the coming decade.