The pandemic has not only caused innumerable casualties and grief, but has sent economies on a downward spiral. The only proverbial light at the end of the tunnel is a collective assumption that ‘this, too, shall pass.’

The ABC will give all Australians, no matter where they are, access to this year’s Anzac Day commemorations, with extensive coverage across its radio, television, digital and social media platforms.

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Covid-19: JLR restores three-fourth of its budgeted production in China

Canalys Senior Analyst Ben Stanton said that in February, when the coronavirus was centered on China, vendors were mainly concerned about how to build enough smartphones to meet global demand.

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Normally, one can defer payment by paying 'minimum due amount' and roll over the balance outstanding amount to the next month. In this process, the unpaid amount is carried forward to the next billing cycle and 2-4 percent interest is levied on it.

The interest rate on a COVID loan is lower than a personal loan and can vary from 8%-15% per annum. The loan term varies from 6 months to 5 years.

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Trumpnomics will probably kick-start the decline of the US as we know it. Getting back our best brains, trained in the best institutes, will be the biggest capital we can have to climb to the pinnacle.

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Cement is a perfect barometer to gauge economic activity. On May 5, a day after India began a graded opening up in its fight against the scourge of the novel coronavirus, economic activity could be tracked by the movement of rakes carrying cement: 7 out of every 10 trains were chugging towards green and orange zones, bypassing the prosperous districts in the red zone.The government, by then, had colour-coded all 733 districts in the country. The 130 districts that were the worst affected by Covid-19 were in the red zone. Suddenly, the country’s biggest and most vital commercial hubs such as Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad and Chennai were hotspots. The virus-free 319 districts were coded green and the rest 284 districts, which were only moderately affected, were called orange. The many guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, state chief secretaries and even resident welfare societies boiled down to the same thing — the harshest lockdown will be in the red zone, there will be partial relaxation in orange zones while green will be opened up, albeit with conditions.Cement movement is a good measure of economic activity on the ground as it is often ferried straight to project sites. When the nationwide lockdown began on March 25, all non-essential work, including construction, came to a grinding halt. And the rakes carrying cement stopped running. 75649505The railway data, previewed by ET Magazine, shows that 254 trains carrying cement were on the move on May 5 when Lockdown 3.0 began: 84 of them were travelling towards green zones, 99 to orange and only 71 to red.India in Numbers- Source: McKinsey (% of population- 2011 census)Total Districts in India: 733GREEN ZONE- 319 Districts- 24 per cent populationORANGE ZONE- 284 Districts- 43 per cent populationRED ZONE- 130 Districts- 33 per cent population49-57% Economic activity during the lockdown 41% Red districts’ share of economic activities 50% Share of red districts in households with annual disposable income of over Rs 4.85 lakh 143 mn Minimum number of inactive non-farm workers during lockdown (Note: Green districts are Covid-free for previous 21 days; red and orange zones are identified on the basis of positive cases, doubling rate, testing, etc.)The colour-coded division and lockdown of India raises three big questions. One, are the green and orange zones robust enough to fire up the nation’s $2.7 trillion economy? Two, can the lockdown in the red zones be stretched beyond May 17 even as the number of Covid-19 cases in the country jump to about 60,000 on Saturday morning, with almost all of the new active cases coming from the red districts? Three, if the lockdown is prolonged in the metropolises, have we calculated the impact on the economy? In essence, how should India navigate a health emergency and an economic crisis — both unprecedented in its nature and magnitude? 75649443Bibek Debroy, chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, resorts to Greek mythology to explain the dilemma India is in and the possible way out for it. Homer’s hero Odysseus, Debroy says, chose to sail closer to the sea beast Scylla and lose a few sailors, rather than lose his entire ship by travelling near the monstrous whirlpool Charybdis. In Debroy’s telling, the sea monster Scylla is the Covid pandemic and Charybdis is the economic toll. (See the column, “The Ship Inches a Little Away From Whirlpool”).That Greek myth could be a clue to what the Indian government is likely to do after May 17: lift the clampdown on entire districts and impose severe restrictions only on containment zones; kick-start the economy even as Covid cases and the death toll rise alongside. Says Debroy: “Mortality and morbidity apply to enterprises too; MSMEs more pronounced than most. The baseline GDP growth was already in slowdown mode and a capital crunch was compounded by lockdown’s labour constraint. There were both supply and demand shocks. That Scylla/Charybdis metaphor is apt, because Homer’s account tells us what Odysseus did.” 75649534“All the big cities are in red zones. Even if a factory opens in orange or green zone, who will it produce for? Red zones cannot turn orange quickly. So will you not allow the sale of nonessential items in red zones?” Arvind Mediratta, MD & CEO, Metro Cash & Carry.The worry about the nation’s economic health is palpable. If the lockdown continues in the commercial hubs any longer, the losses will pile up for many companies; the smaller firms likely to go under first. It will have a debilitating effect on the economy in general and jobs in particular. The Indian economy would be on the ventilator then.As those cement-carrying rakes show, there are many factories in orange and green zones as well, miles away from city limits. Work can begin there, and some have already started production. 75649555“There is total disruption. Supply chains are badly affected. Liquidity is a big issue. The govt must announce a stimulus package. I also urge the govt to stop the imports of all products that can be made in India” Gautam Singhania, CMD, RaymondBut the million-rupee question is, who are they producing for? The 130 districts in the red zone are critical centres of not just production but also consumption. Even as they account for 41% of national economic activity, 38% of industrial output and 40% of non-farm employment, they also have half of India’s consuming-class households — those with an annual disposable income of more than Rs 4.85 lakh each — according to a recent McKinsey report titled “Reopening India: Implications for Economic Activity and Workers”.Breaking the Value ChainFurthermore, dividing swathes of the country into zones and restricting movement of goods and people will have a disastrous effect on production, labour, supply and distribution chains, which are deeply intertwined. In the textiles sector, for example, if cotton is bought in the western parts of India, yarn is spun in the north and west, while weaving mostly takes place in the south, and apparel is manufactured in clusters in the north and south, as the McKinsey report further points out. Similarly, in the chemical industry, the acetic acid value chain supplies to a variety of industries such as pharmaceuticals, pesticides, paper, food processing and construction. Any blockage will have a ripple effect on sectors.Arvind Mediratta, managing director and CEO of Metro Cash and Carry, says dividing the country into colour-coded districts is unrealistic and the rules guiding it are arbitrary. “It seems those who designed it (colour-coded zones) are not aware of ground realities. All the big cities are in red zones. Even if a factory opens in orange or green zone, who will it produce for? Also, the implementation on the ground is arbitrary. In red zones today, you can buy liquor but not kitchen items,” says Mediratta.Mohit Anand, managing director of Kellogg, South Asia, says solutions have to be found locally. “Each region has its own issues, each warehouse and factory has a different problem. India is like 21 countries put together and, hence, the solutions also have to be hyperlocal in nature,” he says. In red zones, not only are malls and market places shut but ecommerce firms are barred from selling non-essential items. An Amazon spokesperson says when restrictions were lifted, the company saw a huge demand from orange and green zones for smart devices, kitchen appliances, baby clothes and products related to study-from-home. “The opening up of these areas for ecommerce has meant that thousands of small businesses received orders for the first time in the past many weeks of lockdown,” the spokesperson adds. Consumers and businesses in the red zone, meanwhile, have to wait. 75649590“MMCAS (manufacturing, mining, construction and allied services) constitutes about 50% of GVA and about 35% of employment. This segment must be freed up, even in red zones” Arvind Virmani, Former chief economic adviser.Out of WorkThe lockdown has seen a massive reverse migration of workers. Deprived of work and wages for weeks, hundreds of thousands of labourers have left cities. In sheer desperation, many hid in trucks and freight trains and trudged hundreds of kilometres to reach home. It was only after 40 days of lockdown that the government arranged special trains for them— by Saturday, 302 trains have ferried around 3.4 lakh migrant workers to their native states.Some states are worried about reverse migration at a time when factories are reopening and life in green pockets are returning to normalcy. Karnataka even made an abortive attempt to stop such special trains to stonewall the return of migrant labourers. Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot says workers should be persuaded to stay back. He says: “There is a cost to the migrants’ travelling back to their native districts. Once a worker goes home, she won’t return in the next three-four months. I feel that only those who are desperate and determined to return home should go; the rest should stay back, taking temporary jobs. They won’t be gainfully employed in their native areas.” The loss of workforce will particularly affect states such as Maharashtra, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala that rely heavily on migrant workers in construction and services sectors. 75649620“After Covid-19 there will be new normals: new models of engagement between companies and their clients” Keshav Murugesh, Group CEO, WNS Global ServicesMontek Singh Ahluwalia, former deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, says labourers will not return to cities anytime soon, and it will be one of the factors that will prolong the economic pain. He says green and orange zones cannot help in economic revival “as 60% of the economy is in the red zone”. Even if restrictions in all the zones are lifted, he says, it will take some more time for economic activity to get back to normal. “The reverse migration that has taken place may not be quickly reversed. Recession in the world economy and reduced level of remittances will have a negative impact. Private sector investment plans which have been interrupted will take time to resume. That is why many analysts are predicting that we may see negative growth in 2021, with recovery beginning only next year,” Ahluwalia adds.In this pervasive gloom, some indicators offer flickers of hope. Bengaluru-based trucking platform BlackBuck has seen a spike in bookings on the back of a good harvest. The agri pickup is likely to continue into the kharif season, with the India Meteorological Department forecasting a good monsoon. Cofounder Rajesh Yabaji says: “We have seen 80,000 bookings since we opened up our commission-free platform in April-end. Now, we estimate truck traffic to be at 50% of pre-lockdown trucking movement.”On April 29 and 30, two freight trains originating from Karnataka ferried about 350 new tractors to Rajasthan and Gujarat, responding to demand in western India ahead of the kharif season.Companies are ramping up production of agri-related items to meet seasonal demand from rural India. Hemant Sikka, president, farm equipment sector, Mahindra & Mahindra, says the company has resumed production in its tractor plants in Rudrapur (Uttarakhand), Nagpur (Maharashtra) and Mohali (Punjab) after getting necessary approvals. 75649661“With dealerships opening up, bounty harvest and forecast of a normal monsoon, the tractor industry will perform well” Hemant Sikka, President, farm equipment sector, Mahindra & Mahindra.“The highest levels of safety protocols and social distancing are being ensured at the plants, especially on the shop floor. With dealerships gradually opening up, a bounty harvest and forecast of a normal monsoon, I am positive that the tractor industry will perform well and ensure rural growth and prosperity during the year,” says Sikka.Farming sector is likely to get a boost this year with labourers who are back from the cities lending a hand on the fields. The number of people engaged in work under NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) has swelled multiple times. In Rajasthan, as against 62,000 NREGA workers on April 18, there were 16.5 lakh on May 5. All of them are engaged in their own farmland, receiving Rs 220 daily from the government.While agriculture could be a sector to watch out for in the coming months, the Covid-19 crisis will inflict a body blow to sectors such as hospitality and tourism, which are likely to remain dormant for quite some time even after the lockdown is lifted. 75649456After Covid The post-Covid world will be vastly different from the before-Covid universe we have left behind. Keshav Murugesh, group CEO of WNS Global Services and former chairman of Nasscom, says there will be “new normals”. Clients and BPO companies will come up with ingenious models of engagement. Work from home could become the norm even if it leads to productivity loss. “At WNS, we are in no hurry to go back to office in May although work from home would mean productivity would drop to 85%,” says Murugesh, adding that uninterrupted power supply at homes is essential for making the model a success in the longer term.Saugata Gupta, managing director of consumer goods company Marico, says they are strategising on new pricing to sell their products effectively in a post-Covid environment. “We have to be cognisant of the fact that with mounting pressure on consumers’ disposable income, there will be a risk of downtrading. So, one has to be very careful on pricing, and we have to ensure a good value to consumers. Any gains on input costs need to be passed on to consumers,” says Gupta, adding that the opening up of green zones is good news for them as many of their products are popular in rural markets. 75649645“Each region has its own problems. India is like 21 countries put together, and solutions also have to be hyperlocal in nature” Mohit Anand, MD, Kellogg, South AsiaGautam Singhania, chairman and MD of Raymond, says there seems to be a communication gap between the Centre and states. He says: “There is total disruption. The supply chains are badly affected. Liquidity is a big issue and banks are not willing to pump in cash now. It is high time the government took this up, and announced a stimulus package.” He proposes a ban on imports. “For one year, we should follow the motto of buying only Indian products. I urge the government to stop imports of products that can be made in India. This is a question of survival.”India Inc, by and large, has come to terms with the new reality that till a vaccine for Covid-19 is discovered, the companies will be forced to shed some productivity by allowing employees to work from home and by deploying fewer labourers to ensure social distancing.The government, however, cannot remain in stasis till a vaccine is discovered. It has to take a call on whether a blanket ban on economic activities in red districts is the way forward. Former chief economic adviser Arvind Virmani says economic activities should be allowed in red zones. “We estimate that MMCAS (manufacturing, mining, construction and allied services) constitutes about 50% of GVA (gross value added) and about 35% of employment. This segment of economy must be freed up entirely, even in red zones, with restrictions such as physical distancing,” he says.The virus is not going away anytime soon. The hastily drawn colour codes will have to be smudged away now. Otherwise, an economic contagion will be upon us.Read More1. Our first objective is to provide value to customers: Saugata Gupta, MD, Marico2.Economy likely to show negative growth in current year: Montek Singh Ahluwali3. Rajasthan’s thrust will be on textile, agriculture and domestic tourism: Sachin Pilot4. With a phased opening, India tries to avoid a grave economic toll: Bibek Debroy

When the Covid-19 pandemic caused a sudden shortage of hand sanitisers, alcoholic beverage major Pernod Ricard was among the companies in the US that stepped up to ensure there was no dearth of the product in the market. Leading the initiative was Ann Mukherjee, who took over as chairman & CEO of Pernod Ricard North America in December 2019. Mukherjee has spent almost 30 years in sales, marketing and brands, including with Frito-Lay North America and SC Johnson. The Kolkata-born Mukherjee was last month chosen by US President Donald Trump to be part of a high-profile group to advise the American government on how to kick-start US manufacturing in the post-pandemic era. Trump has formed several such groups to focus on various sectors of the economy. In an interview with Ishani Duttagupta, Mukherjee says that re-entering life and enabling safe travel will be the biggest challenges that all nations face in a post-lockdown world. Edited excerpts...You took over the reins at Pernod Ricard North America only last December; how are you dealing with the crisis caused by the pandemic?My first priority was the health and safety of our employees. That meant creating an infrastructure and agile ways of working to enable working from home through confinement. It also meant creating and maintaining safety protocols for our essential frontline workers, especially our teams in production facilities and distilleries. Second, we focused on our ability to give back to the communities we serve and partner with. Given our entrepreneurial culture, many teams went into action creating opportunities with speed. Working closely with the White House COVID taskforce, we were able to get clearance to produce and supply hand sanitiser for the US government. We provided this free of cost to help first responders across the country. Our Jameson team --- realizing that many bartenders that partner to make the brand great would be out of work – donated $600,000, and generated another $700,000 in matching funds, to the US Bartenders Guild charity fund. Also, our on-premise team worked with multiple charities to provide free meals for hospitality workers affected by the crisis.Finally, we dealt with the crisis by closely collaborating with our distributor partners to keep our business open in the short term, while working together to create a roadmap for recovery. We leveraged our resilience and our culture of conviviality to keep spirits high -- and work with optimism -- during difficult times.As the head of the American operations of an European giant, what are the challenges? Are there any cultural issues?Honestly, cultural issues never even enter the conversation. The culture is centred around conviviality…..bringing people together. That is true for what we sell and how we interact together as business units. Our CEO Alex Ricard sets the tone and walks the walk. He is a very expansive thinker and an inclusive leader who unites us and our different experiences to make for a more powerful whole. Take me for example. He hired an Indian American with very strong roots in India, with North American commercial experience and global marketing experience. He looks for people with broad perspectives and experiences. 75649631Is the American market for scotch whisky growing?Scotch is the best-selling imported whiskey in the US by revenue. Blended scotch has been somewhat flat, with some growth during the crisis, and we see that with our iconic Chivas brand. Single malt is where we see the growth; sales increased almost 10% last year. Our Glenlivet brand has been a huge driver of that growth, bringing new drinkers into both the brand and the category. The brand is positioned to challenge the more traditional conventions of scotch drinkers and celebrates the young unconventional drinker, especially appealing to women who are now open to enjoying single malt as their drink of choice.You are part of the team of top CEOs advising President Trump on reviving the US economy. What are some of the key issues that you think the US government needs to address at this point? It’s an honour to serve the country in this capacity. Our number 1 objective is to help the administration bring back and rebuild confidence. It is a very difficult balance between managing public health and insuring a sustainable economy. We must protect the population from this virus but we need to ensure there is an economy to come back to post the recovery. If we open too quickly, we might be back in confinement; if we don’t re-open with smart speed, we might create a bigger crisis. So we need to ensure that there are the right protocols in place for recovery, ensure there is adequate supply and access to protective accessories needed, and the right partnerships in place with private enterprise, local government and federal oversight. What should the Indian government do?As the world’s largest democracy, India has a very strong state-driven government system with strong central government oversight, not unlike the US. It is critical to get that balance right and work together to strengthen and unite the mosaic that is India. India defines entrepreneurship. It is vital to tap into that cultural advantage and unite business leaders, scholars and government to create out of the box solutions. Private enterprise will need to understand that we as CEOs have not only a fiscal responsibility to our companies, but also a societal responsibility. One feeds the other; without a vibrant market, our businesses cannot thrive, so working together as a collective across business and government is key.The alcobeverages sector traditionally didn’t have women in top roles. Do you see that changing? What are the challenges?I absolutely see it changing, though I wish progress was faster. Companies need to reflect their consumer base, and a majority of everyday purchase decisions globally are made by women. That fact is only accelerating as women become more educated, empowered as single parents or heads of households across many countries. In beverage alcohol in the US, a majority of decisions are actually made by women. The challenge is that we need corporate boards and top management teams to get more rigorous about achieving this objective. Companies must put shorter term and longer term 5-10 year succession plans in place to achieve ambitious targets for women in top management roles; they need to be identified early, developed, and given aggressive career plans to groom them for these positions. This is a passion point for Pernod Ricard driven by our Chairman, Alex Ricard. It’s about achieving better balance…and I personally like this approach. It isn’t about favouring one gender over the other, it’s about getting the right balance reflective of the marketplace and in creating tomorrow’s workforce now. Going forward, what do you think are the biggest challenges that your company and sector will have to grapple with as lockdown gradually lifts across the US and the world?Re-entering life safely is the biggest challenge the world faces. Whether it’s re-entering your neighbourhood, your town, travelling within your own country, or beginning to travel the world again. It also will be parents letting go of their children after they kept them from harm in confinement, and trusting school systems to keep them safe. And family members trusting each other to maintain safety protocols as they come back home from work. We all will lose control when we come out of confinement. In our industry, our biggest challenge will be restaurants, hotels, bars and pubs. How can you enjoy and connect, but safely from a distance? Can smaller establishments have viable businesses when there need to be fewer patrons? It will be a new normal, and we need to work together to make it viable and enjoyable.What do you think are the major differences between the liquor market in the US and Europe?I believe the liquor market is very similar in the two continents. During this crisis, we have seen the market stay strong through in-home consumption, with some of the bar and restaurant consumption shifting to home consumption. People are drinking brands they know and trust. They are also looking for premium experiences to help overcome the difficulty of confinement. For us at Pernod Ricard, we have the world’s largest premium portfolio with a large stable of familiar and trusted brands. So we have seen positive performance from our portfolio in both continents. What has your experience been as a woman in a typically male-dominated industry?Joining Pernod Ricard was a great fit for me. My husband and I love entertaining, bringing friends and family together because we believe creating special moments together makes life worth living. That is exactly the spirit and culture of conviviality. So when I joined the company, I invited my leadership team to my home for a night to meet the Mukherjees as part of a bigger leadership summit. My husband, who is very proud of his bar, rebuilt all the shelves so he could light up and showcase all of the incredible Pernod Ricard brands. I show my compassion through food. So I made samosas, mutton biriyani, raita, chicken cutlet and chapali kababs, and for my vegetarian team members, I made dal makhani, matter paneer, aloo dum. As a parting gift I gave everyone a small Ganesh so our paths moving forward would have no obstacles. I believe that if you are to be a meaningful leader, you must bring your whole and authentic self to work. As a woman, I don’t shy away from sharing my personal stories as a wife, mother and daughter, or from sharing my vulnerabilities as a woman leader in how I manage, try to instil trust and inspire others. After all, we are in the human being business. Do you see a timeline for recovery of firms such as yours in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis?The only thing that is certain about this crisis is that it is uncertain. Until we have viable testing and treatment and eventually vaccines, we cannot fully recover. So the key right now is to be agile. Adjust as the marketplace adjusts. That means new ways of working, helping your workforce to be in a mode of agile planning and execution. We can help people through the stops and starts this will cause by helping them see the bigger long-term goal of recovery and viability.Do you have any connections with India?I have very strong connections with India. 98% of my family is still in India, in my native hometown of Kolkata, New Delhi where I went to high school, as well as Mumbai and Bengaluru. We talk to them daily/weekly to keep in touch and stay connected through this crisis. We speak Bengali at home as a family. I am very proud of my sari collection and dress Indian any chance I get. We have a very strong Indian community here. I am as Indian as I am American and am a better person for it. I hope and pray that everyone stays safe and recovers with prosperity.

When we think of how amazingly things work in the cosmos, it seems revelatory, because it is not something that’s in your face.

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Liquidating assets to pay off debts is recommended only if you find it difficult to pay EMIs.

In India, the total number of jobs likely to be impacted is 136 million, as per the NSS.

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Khanna, 43, is the only Indian-American lawmaker to be named to the White House's Opening Up America Again Congressional Group which comprises Congressmen from both the Republican and the Democratic parties.

Indian-American Dr Madhvi Aya, who contracted the coronavirus in the line of duty in New York, the country's COVID-19 epicentre, could only exchange text messages with her husband and daughter from her hospital bed before she lost the battle to the deadly virus.

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