new business ideas in india after covid 19

India’s future and role in the post-COVID-19 world

India will prioritize economic expansion and sustainability for sustained growth and influence on the world stage. Image:  Unsplash/Julian Yu

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  Home > Blog > Loan for Business > 7 Small Business Ideas in India after the COVID-19 Pandemic

  7 small business ideas in india after the covid-19 pandemic.

  

  With lakhs of young Indians losing their jobs and receiving hefty pay cuts amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, self-sustenance has become the need of the hour. It is in such dire times that the greatest of business ideas are often born. Looking to take the less beaten path and start a business of your own?

  To get your entrepreneurial juices flowing, here are the seven most viable post-pandemic business ideas you can pursue even with limited resources and a small business loan.

  7 Best Post-Pandemic Small Business Ideas for Indians

  Given how masks are in huge demand and are going to remain so for a while, opening a mask business is one of the best small business ideas post-pandemic.  If you have a sewing machine at home, you can immediately begin your business in lockdown by sewing a small number of masks.

  If you have even the tiniest artistic bend, let it work its magic on specially designed masks. If you aren’t much of a visual artist, you can always get a friend to join you.

  2. Medical supplies

  This includes everything from gloves and surgical gowns to PPE kits. It’s an evidently booming industry globally. Our own country has a booming Rs. 7000 crore PPE industry, with around 4.5 lakh kits being produced daily.

  Setting up a small surgical gown production line or a glove manufacturing facility will cost you around Rs. 40,000-50,000, which can easily be taken care of with a small business loan . With sanitisation and protective gear becoming a way of life, this industry has a sure shot way to success even after the pandemic is over.

  Additional Read : How to Use SME Business Loans Effectively in Post Pandemic World

  3. Soaps, sanitisers, and hygiene products

  Soaps, hand wash liquids, sanitisers, etc., have perhaps been used more this year than any other year in the 21st Century. The demand for sanitisers has risen 100 times. The habit of frequently washing and sanitising our hands is here to stay, and there lies your small business idea. 

  People in India have already been toying with this idea by starting home-based production of soap with as little as Rs. 20,000 of investment.

  4. Consulting

  This is the one small business idea in India that you can pursue during lockdown while sticking to your existing field or industry. A lot of talented professionals are losing their full-time salaried jobs. However, there is a new industry that has opened up for freelancers and consultants.

  Companies are looking for more skilled freelancers as they come with lesser administrative and financial efforts. It is the right time to leverage your expertise, be it in management, marketing, or anything else. The best part of this business is that you don’t need financial investment.

  5. Online teaching

  This might be one of the most preferred new business ideas after COVID-19 in India, thanks to its ease and accessibility. People are becoming not just more tech-savvy but also more EdTech-savvy in the lockdown. You could finally put your music skills, cooking skills, or even business expertise to use by sharing it with others. It is very easy to put up an online course. You can do it through an online course marketplace or even create your own website with a minimal subscription model.

  

  With an investment of under Rs. 50,000, you can explore a lot of small business ideas such as your own lunchbox service, snacks packet sales, dessert shop, cake shop, or even Ayurveda snack store from home. People are now more wary of ordering from bigger brands and risking contact with multiple people, hygiene issues, etc. Boutique and homemade food brands and healthy eating are the next big thing.

  7. Doorstep delivery service

  During the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses migrated to the digital space. This move has fuelled a massive demand for delivery services that can deliver food, groceries, or any other commodity efficiently at the consumer’s doorstep. Also, since most people have now become comfortable with the idea of ordering stuff, you’d already have a large customer base to cater to if you decide to invest in this business. All in all, it’s one of the best post-COVID business opportunities in India.

  Additional Read:  How SMEs can manage their finances better post-COVID

  Parting thoughts

  You may have lost your job or received a pay cut. It might seem like the end of the world, but it could also mean the start of a new, better life. Need some monetary help to kick-start your own business? Tata Capital’s Unsecured Business Loans are here to give wings to your business aspirations. Enjoy customised loans, flexible repayment options with attractive business loan interest rates and easy processing at Tata Capital today.

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  Five priorities for corporate India in the next normal after COVID-19

  The coronavirus pandemic has had a serious effect on the lives and livelihoods of people in India. Daily counts of new confirmed COVID-19 cases and COVID-19 deaths have continued to rise, although lockdown measures imposed in late March helped slow the spread of the disease. As in other countries, these lockdown measures have curtailed economic activity and increased unemployment. McKinsey estimates  that India’s GDP in the first quarter of the 2020–21 fiscal year could shrink by 20 percent, compared with the same quarter last year. The World Bank projects that full-year GDP will contract by more than 3 percent. India’s unemployment rate, which stood at 8.4 percent before the lockdown, rose to 27.1 percent in April.

  The beginning of May saw the government cautiously lift certain restrictions so that some businesses could reopen. This helped bring the unemployment rate down to 24 percent by mid-May. And when McKinsey surveyed global executives  on their economic views in early May, almost half of respondents in India said that they expect economic conditions in India to be substantially or moderately better in six months’ time.

  Nevertheless, a sober, pragmatic outlook emerges from our discussions with dozens of CEOs and senior executives in recent weeks. Executives are planning for a prolonged economic downturn—and for an uncertain “next normal” that could follow an eventual recovery. They also observed that the COVID-19 crisis has brought new urgency to some of corporate India’s longstanding challenges, and that companies which act now to address these priorities could emerge stronger from the crisis. In this article, we offer a closer look at these priorities, which are as follows:

  • making balance sheets and cost structures more resilient
  • reshaping business portfolios for greater value creation
  • embedding digital and analytics to transform legacy businesses and build new ones
  • building greater safety, flexibility, and productivity into operations
  • embracing systems thinking in corporate decisions

  Making balance sheets and cost structures more resilient

  In conversations with promoters and CEOs of large businesses in India, one big challenge kept coming up: it has become risky to finance growth mostly with debt. McKinsey research published last year showed  that 43 percent of India’s long-term debt is held by companies with an interest coverage ratio (earnings before interest and taxes over interest expense) of less than 1.5. At these levels, companies spend a predominant share of their earnings on debt service. The high cost of debt in India has something to do with this. Another factor is that large numbers of small and medium-size companies compete fiercely for profits in many industries, leaving each company with a smaller profit share that it can use to service debt or scale up operations.

  Now the COVID-19 crisis has made debt financing even more difficult, by creating uncertainty about companies’ revenue prospects even as their costs remain the same. Many CEOs stated that the crisis has knocked their companies back to revenue levels of three to five years ago. The dual pressure of falling revenues and diminished ability to service debt has weakened corporate India’s balance sheets. These were shaky to begin with: nonperforming loans held by India’s banks amounted to some 10 lakh crore Indian rupees ($130 billion) at the end of 2019. As a result, the quarters or even years ahead could see considerable deleveraging.

  Executives told us that equity financing stands out as their best option. While financial investors are one potential source, promoters and boards are also searching for strategic investors with the know-how, scale, and global networks to expand India’s companies. Such investors will most likely be found outside India. Some $50 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) equity flowed into India during the year that ended in March 2020, and several high-profile FDI investments have been announced in the past six weeks. Strategic partnerships to expand India’s large companies could shore up their balance sheets and sustain industry-level profitability by reducing the number of companies competing in the Indian market.

  Whether these companies remain domestically focused or set their sights overseas, one thing is clear: many would benefit from shrinking their cost bases. The fixed costs of large Indian companies amount to 49 percent of their cost base on average across sectors. In service sectors the proportion can be as high as 60 to 70 percent; in manufacturing, it is around 20 to30 percent (Exhibit 1). Leaders said that they have begun exploring ways to achieve a leaner fixed-cost model. Many said they plan to downsize by 30 to 40 percent and shift fixed costs to variable costs through outsourcing and the use of digital technologies (a topic we will explore further below).

  Slimmer cost structures could lower companies’ breakeven levels (revenues required to cover fixed costs) by 30 percentage points, which would make them more resilient to demand shocks in the market. This is especially important for start-ups which are seeing their revenue streams evaporate.

  Reshaping business portfolios for greater value creation

  Corporate India, like the rest of corporate Asia, allocates much of its capital to sectors which lose value (those in which returns on invested capital are lower than the weighted average cost of capital). Of India’s $1.1 trillion of invested capital over the last decade, the lion’s share, 84 percent, is concentrated in three value-losing sectors: energy and materials (37 percent), domestic services (30 percent), and financial services (17 percent). Only 16 percent of invested capital went into value-creating sectors : knowledge-intensive sectors (IT, pharmaceuticals, medical products), consumer goods and services, and capital goods (Exhibit 2).

  In every industry, the returns of value-creating and value-losing companies are spread widely apart, and the differential is growing. To put this another way: the top companies in each sector are capturing a greater share of the available value, and the value-creating sectors are widening their lead over the value-losing ones. A key reason is that capacity utilization levels for Indian manufacturers had declined to a low rate of 65 to 70 percent before the COVID-19 crisis. The crisis itself could reduce capacity utilization even more.

  One overall result of these developments is that the combined return on invested capital (ROIC) of the top 2,500 listed companies in India slid downward over the past decade, from 12 percent in 2008 to 8 percent in 2018. The executives we spoke with opined that the private investment cycle has been delayed by three years, and possibly more.

  While it is too soon to say whether the COVID-19 crisis and the economic downturn will change the value-creation profile of corporate India, or by how much, Indian executives will continue to face the challenge of reallocating capital away from businesses and sectors that create less value and toward those that create more. The infrastructure sector holds particular promise: the government has announced plans to spend $1.4 trillion on infrastructure over the next five years. Agriculture and the associated rural economy, too, appear primed for rapid growth on the back of the reforms announced in May.

  In general, the allocation of capital and resources toward value-creating sectors should be aided by the shift toward knowledge and innovation-led businesses with minimal capital requirements. These businesses, which include customer-facing digital ventures, health and wellness, insurance, renewables, and advanced mobility, are well positioned to capitalize on changing consumer preferences, regulatory shifts, and environmental imperatives.

  Embedding digital and analytics to transform legacy businesses and build new ones

  At the level of consumer activity, the COVID-19 pandemic has powerfully accelerated the uptake of digital technologies. Consumers in India have reported major increases in the use of digital and low-touch activities across categories like delivery services, at-home entertainment, education, food, staples, shopping, communications, health, and fitness. New and increased users of digital services in India  also indicated high levels of intent to continue using digital services such as remote learning, digital payments, and curbside pickup of orders from stores.

  It’s clear that digital technology can generate enormous value. The McKinsey Global Institute estimated in 2019  that such technologies could create some $1 trillion of value in India alone. For example, equipping the IT-BPM industry with digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), analytics, cloud, and cybersecurity could yield $205 billion to $250 billion of gross value added (GVA) in 2025, roughly twice the $115 billion achieved in 2017–18.

  Executives we spoke with pointed to opportunities for their companies, as well as small businesses and start-ups. Indeed, several expressed the view that the pandemic has come as a wake-up call to embrace advanced technologies. While there are countless potential applications, CEOs told us that they are especially interested in three domains.

  First, they are keen to digitize sales and customer experiences in both the business-to-consumer context and the business-to-business context. This can help Indian companies meet increased customer engagement and satisfaction, while lowering the cost of sales by replacing in-person experiences with virtual ones. Over time, companies with strong digital channels can also cut back on physical locations, which further reduces overhead and insulates them from economic slowdowns. Across sectors, CEOs told us that they believe 60 to 100 percent of sales processes and tasks can be digitized.

  Several executives expressed the view that the pandemic has come as a wake-up call to embrace advanced technologies.

  Companies also hope to rapidly digitize their supply chains and manufacturing operations. New supply-chain technologies can deliver significant benefits: greater visibility, faster and better decision making, and more effective collaboration among workers and between companies and their supply-chain partners. The adoption of contactless technologies, in particular, can mitigate the health risks associated with activities that otherwise require person-to-person interactions.

  Last, executives see opportunities to create digitized ecosystems of customers and influencers. Both large companies and start-ups can establish digital platforms which serve multiple groups. Over time, such platforms can integrate an ever-widening range of technology and physical offerings in ways that address more customer needs.

  Building greater safety, flexibility, and productivity into operations

  India, like every other country touched by the pandemic, faces the immense challenge of bringing people back to work in a way that prevents a recurrence of the coronavirus outbreak. According to the executives we spoke with at large companies, restarting operations and then having to stop them if the spread of the virus picks up pace again could be as problematic, in certain respects, as not restarting operations at all in the near term. Executives worry that a continual start–stop cycle could define the remainder of 2020. As it is, with some workers having relocated, companies may have to run their plants with 50 to 70 percent of their usual workforce.

  In some workplaces, such as factories and densely occupied service facilities, going back to work will mean implementing new safety measures across a wide range of activities, not just on-site operations. Recent McKinsey research  on how hospitals and medical clinics, grocery stories, banks, and other essential businesses remained open during the COVID-19 outbreak points to useful practices for companies in any sector. These practices apply across pre-entry, travel to and from work, at work, in common spaces, and even post-infection. Implementing these protocols, in line with local rules and advisories, could go a long way toward providing greater safety at work.

  Measures to protect worker health are especially important for India’s manufacturing companies, given the financial pressure that many will face to boost productivity, which all but requires bringing more workers into plants. Our research on the productivity of manufacturing sectors in India, China, and South Korea bears this out: China’s manufacturing industries rate as four times as productive (measured in terms of the ratio between GVA and number of employees) as India’s, and South Korea’s are nearly 16 times as productive. Gains in manufacturing productivity could allow India’s manufacturers to increase their production of goods for export, and to pursue contract-manufacturing opportunities in areas such as capital goods, automotive components, and pharmaceuticals.

  Embracing systems thinking in corporate decisions

  As CEOs and executives talked to us about India’s experience to date with COVID-19, they observed that their companies have become tightly connected with institutions around the world and with global flows of goods, information, and capital—yet they still have not factored the implications of system-level connectivity into their decisions. On the contrary, CEOs admitted that most of their recent decisions have sought to improve outcomes for certain stakeholders but have had unintended and adverse consequences for others.

  For example, executives tell us they’ve realized how effective remote meetings, even for large groups, can be. This has prompted them to wonder about the adverse effects of frequent business travel for people’s lifestyles and for the environment. As another example, companies in India have sought to create people systems that reward employees for strong performance. One result of these systems has been that senior management reaps greater and greater rewards, while the gap between executive and worker pay widens each year, creating adverse social consequences. In other areas, the cost of inertia has been highlighted. Efforts to make workforces more diverse, and particularly to increase the representation of women, have brought about negligible improvements in part because companies are reluctant to disturb their seemingly efficient hiring, development, and advancement processes.

  Executives we spoke with say they are inclined to broaden their decision-making envelopes and think about the system-level effects on stakeholders across three spheres: their organizations, their communities, and the global environment.

  Now the coronavirus pandemic has jolted executives out of their customary ways of thinking and making decisions. CEOs told us they are seeing how responses to the crisis, both in India and worldwide, have required various stakeholders to act in unison, and sometimes to unify across sector or competitive lines. One aspect of the response is that central and state governments, municipal bodies, companies, nonprofit organizations, and innumerable individuals have come together to find ingenious solutions at the local level.

  Now, executives we spoke with say they are inclined to broaden their decision-making envelopes and think about the system-level effects on stakeholders across three spheres: their organizations, their communities, and the global environment. Their hope is that accounting for systemic impacts in these three spheres can help them make decisions that advance the interests of their organizations as well as the wider public.

  By causing unexpected shocks and by accelerating changes that were already unfolding, the COVID-19 crisis has spurred Indian executives to rethink their organizations’ processes and priorities. Their task now is to address perennial challenges that the crisis has made more urgent: to strengthen balance sheets, allocate resources to valuable uses, embrace digital technologies, make operations safer and more productive, and adopt systems thinking. Companies that do this can become healthier and more resilient, and more likely to persist through the downturn and thrive in the next normal.

  Rajat Dhawan is a senior partner in McKinsey’s Gurgaon office.

  The author wishes to thank Kanmani Chockalingam for her contributions to this article.

  This article was edited by Josh Rosenfield, an executive editor in the New York office.

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  USE LENDINGKART IN YOUR PREFERRED LANGUAGE

  Top 10 business ideas after lock down.

  June 26, 2020

  8 min  read

  

  Share this Article

  Coronavirus is a highly contagious disease that has spread globally, affecting the lives, professions, economy, and lifestyle of everyone. This has generated an uncertainty of life and an immense loss of movement, earnings, and jobs impacting the economy of almost every country in the world.

  In this situation of contingency and emergency where things are falling apart and with no vaccines or a steady treatment of COVID 19, we can’t be losing hope and positivity and sitting idle without work and waiting for things to be normal.

  Let’s admit the fact; it may take months, probably years for the current situation to normalize and things to smoothen down.

  In this scenario, we all should focus on grasping current work opportunities that COVID 19 lockdown has generated and maintain high levels of optimism and hope to maintain our mental, economic, and physical health.

  Keeping up with the trend

  Looking at the current scenario of despair and joblessness, one must look at the brighter side and figure out opportunities that the lockdown has given rise to.

  Generation of funds is extremely crucial as it not only affects us an individual, but it has a significant impact on our city, economy, country, and even the whole world.

  A few imperative options that we can consider and the scope of ideas that we can optimally use, for personal, social, and economic growth is as follows:

  • The first thing to take into consideration is the Demand in the market. Due to the lockdown, not everything is required, and we must keep the luxuries and comforts aside. Providing necessities and the high demand for them is a major contributor to the market and will generate new business ideas.
  • New ideas on education, banking, agriculture, furniture, fashion, gifts, weddings, food, taxation, finance, and manufacturing are things that cannot be ignored and are always on the run. The continuity in the above mentioned generates new opportunities for business.
  • Google alerts and subscribing to google trends.
  • Explore more online using Google search console
  • Website studying and using website optimizers.
  • Keeping up to date mobile applications
  • Online banking and subscribing to online giants like Justdial, Sulekha, etc.
  • YouTube channelizing
  • Tie-ups with online shopping sites like Amazon, Flip kart, Snapdeal, etc.
  • Tie-ups with online Food businesses like Swiggy, Zomato, etc.
  • A multitude of options catering to online banking like immediate transfer of money and using other soft modes of handling money
  • Zoom meetings, webinars, e-conferencing are the talk of the town, and everyone is indulging in it.
  • Online marketing and publication to improve sales and marketing
  • Using social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and linked-in to make and generate contacts.

  Top 10 Job Opportunities or Business Ideas that can initiate during and after the Lockdown

  It is of paramount importance to maintain digital relations, develop strategies, and use effective techniques to study the market and get into a new opportunity that can be fruitful and money generating.

  Here are the trending business or job ideas that an individual can initiate to survive the COVID 19 crises:

  • Online Teaching

  Education is one of the occupations that will never die out. Even coronavirus cannot stop educating young minds. One can indulge in online video classes, online tuitions, special classes, webinars, or Zoom teaching applications to reach out to the huge number of students who crave a comprehensive explanation and understanding of unexplained concepts and completion of academic syllabus.

  • Freelancing Projects

  Freelancing jobs like content writing, website updating, editing, publishing, journalism, graphic designing, gym instructions and workout techniques, translations, data entries, and many other such jobs are easily available and the demands for professionals in the specified fields in increasing with each passing day.

  Many people are opting for the YouTube marketing small business idea scheme and have started using the immensely large platform to earn a running revenue from it. YouTube videos are catching up and are now a household commodity for people sitting idle at home and having much time in their hands. This allows people to make fun and entertaining videos, gardening and agriculture, dancing and other arts, designing, cooking, and much more to make their videos and publish them on YouTube. The number of like sand subscriptions can help them earn quite a bit from this medium.

  This is a good opportunity for people to put their ideas and thoughts across to the public, giving them a better perspective on various topics. This is generally helpful for people who love writing and who have the nag of it. A blogger reaches a good number of people and can earn quite well through sponsored and affiliated posts and ads.

  • Website Development

  Everyone is not a tech0savvy person, and it may take them ages to have hands-on expertise using technology. This is where the professionals or people good with their technological skills enter and can help the ones who have to start up with fresh work. Even the ongoing business that has shifted from physical marketing towards online marketing would need service regarding website planning organizing and updating, thus giving the designers and developers a fair share of earnings and profits.

  • Art and Craft/ Homemade manufacturing

  Even housewives who were initially sitting idle at home, have now thought of contributing towards the earning so the family by transforming heir talents and skills into business ideas. Men and women are into handicrafts, making handmade designs for clothes, toys, food, even pickles, or they have tried their luck in art and craft and are outselling the same strategically and technologically to the demanding public. These home businesses are on the rise, and there is no stopping to convert the inborn talent into a bright business opportunity.

  • Selling Health care necessities.

  Mask, sanitizers, and medical products are much into demand and don’t seem to end soon. One can initiate a business idea considering the same getting in contact with retailers, wholesalers, and local vendors for proper sales and distribution. Many big companies have shut down their previous businesses and have entered into the same market-making loads f money from it.

  • Door to Door delivery

  Courier service or door to door delivery of valuables like grocery, medicines, or other relevant thigs is also a good initiative. With the fear of COVID 19, may people don’t take the risk of stepping out of their comfort zones and expect everything to be delivered to them at their doorstep? Taking necessary precautions, one can easily initiate this business.

  • Cab service

  Lockdown has imposed may restriction son commuting and transportation service, looking at the same crunch and converting it into a good business opportunity one can make a good amount of money by stating a cab service for people who want to travel from one city to another for work or personal reasons. There will be less negotiation and bargaining, because they don’t have a better option.

  • Food Service

  Everyone seems to have evolved as a great cook during the lockdown. It has given them immense time and opportunity to try different recipes and spend quality time with their families, relishing new food items and options with never-ending new concepts. Many people have taken this hobby professionally, and there is a huge demand in the market for healthy, nutritious food, which can satiate their taste buds.

  Read More: Business Ideas with Low Investment & High Profit Business Ideas for Women

  Business Ideas After Lock Down FAQs:

  1. is it mandatory to have an activated online banking system to start a new job, 2. what is online marketing all about, 3. how do webinars or zoom sessions help, 4. how do i sell homemade products, 5. how easy will it be for me to commute during and after the lockdown.

  

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  Best Business Ideas after Lockdown [In India]

  COVID 19, one of the most lethal viruses, has wreaked havoc on families and markets worldwide, causing massive slowdown and deflation. Unfortunately, Coronavirus is here to stay for the foreseeable future; but do not let this infection prevent you from performing to your utmost abilities during this tough time. We cannot lose faith and optimism while being inactive and waiting for life to return to normal. Accept the reality that it would likely take months, maybe years, to normalise and things to settle down in the current scenario.

  In this situation, we can all concentrate on seizing the current job openings created by the COVID 19 lockdown, maintain a healthy dose of motivation, and hope to preserve our social, economic, and physical wellbeing.

  Keep up with the Trend- Looking at the present situation of uncertainty and unemployment, one must focus on the bright side and identify possibilities created by the lockdown.

  

  Following are the imperative choices and the new business ideas that can be optimally used for psychological, social, and economic growth:

  • The first factor to remember is consumer demand. Because of the lockdown, not all are essential, and we must set aside the luxuries and comforts. Supplying essentials and the high demand for them drives the economy and generates innovative business concepts.
  • Technology and online job opportunities are on the rise, and one can stay up to date on the trending options to choose the best business idea to start under the present circumstances.
  • Education, banking, agriculture, furniture, design, gifts, weddings, food, taxes, finance, and manufacturing are some small business ideas to focus on.
  • We must prioritise technology as a key component to creating career, new business ideas and opportunities.

  Most Successful Small Business Ideas to Start After Lockdown

  It is critical to establish digital relationships, build tactics, and employing successful techniques to research the marketplace and implement these unique business ideas .

  1. E-learning

  One of the sectors that will never stop functioning is education. Even Coronavirus cannot prevent young minds from being educated. To reach out to the large number of students who crave a thorough interpretation and comprehension of unexplained topics and completion of academic syllabus, one can engage in online video lectures, online tuitions, special classes, webinars, or online teaching apps.

  2. Healthcare Items

  Since the series of lockdowns began, the production of small-scale or hand-made masks and hand sanitisers has seen a meteoric rise to meet the growing demand for these health care items. Numerous manufacturers, self-employed technicians, small business owners, SMEs, and MSMEs have ventured into hand sanitiser and face-mask production instead of closing down their current operations during the lockdown.

  Also Read: How to start pharmaceutical manufacturing company?

  3. Doorstep Delivery

  During this lockdown, doorstep delivery has proven to be one of the most dependable market models. Customers would increasingly opt to purchase vegetables, wet market supplies and other essentials digitally rather than from the store in the immediate future. 'No contact delivery,' in which the delivery personnel leave the product at the consumer's doorstep without any direct contact with the customer, is trending these days.

  Also Read: How to start delivery business?

  

  4. Food Delivery

  Can't go to the restaurant? Let the restaurant come to your doorstep. With the help of online platforms such as Zomato and Swiggy, ordering food online has become a simple procedure. Numerous startups are also offering food delivery services. As a result, starting a food delivery service is a good business idea after the lockdown in India.

  Also Read: Online food deliveries business plan

  5. Cab Service

  The lockdown has placed many constraints on transportation services. By focusing on this constraint, one may earn a decent living by operating a taxi service for people to commute for work or travel for personal reasons. The ease of commute is the most sought after solution during the lockdown, and hence a cab service can be the most successful small business idea .

  Also Read: How to start taxi business?

  6. Blogging

  This is an excellent way for individuals to communicate their ideas and perspectives to the general population, providing them with a more informed viewpoint on various topics. This is usually beneficial for individuals who like writing but are plagued by it. A blogger has a large audience and will raise a lot of money from sponsored and affiliated blogs and advertising.

  Also Read: How to start blogging?

  7. Social Media Management

  Social networking, as a highly influential and efficient communications tool, should be incorporated into every business idea . Maintaining a social media presence is important for businesses to remain connected to their clients and audience. Social media administrators are in charge of a company's presence on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Social media management is a good business idea to focus on after the lockdown.

  Also Read: What is social media management?

  8. Digital Marketing

  Digital Marketing is one of the most successful business ideas to implement during the lockdown. It can be done in the form of tweets, blogs, images, or even podcasts; content is a significant factor in digital marketing. The recent ban by the Indian government on 59 Chinese applications that had a monopoly on the Indian content industry has created opportunities for Indian developers and marketers to create and introduce Indian content applications.

  Also Read: How to start digital marketing agency?

  9. Youtubing

  Many individuals have opted for the YouTube marketing small business concept scheme and have begun monetising the enormous website. YouTube videos are catching on and have become a household item for people who are bored at home who have a lot of time on their hands. People can create and post videos on YouTube in a variety of genres, including gardening and cultivation, dance and other arts, architecture, and cooking. The volume of likes and subscriptions they get will help them make a good living from this medium.

  Also Read: How to start a youtube channel for your business?

  10. Art Work

  Staying put indoors has given everyone plenty of time to work on their creative propensities. Needless to say, it is the best opportunity for artists to indulge in their craft. Once they have the necessary materials/ resources, they only need to create a virtual gallery digitally to sell their work and then send it to the customer's address. Virtual art exhibitions can be conducted to make their presence felt in the target market.

  Also Read: How to open an art gallery?

  11. Renewable Energy Sector

  The world is seizing this chance to transform into a more environment-friendly, prosperous, and digitally connected. As a result, it is reasonable to assert that players in the renewable energy market have significant prospects. If you join the renewable energy sector now, you will find a plethora of demand-side prospects.

  

  To halt the virus's propagation, India and other countries have imposed lockdowns, in which all but critical facilities are temporarily halted. Although the difficulties we face through this process must be understood and addressed, numerous opportunities and small business ideas are generated with a wealth of untapped entrepreneurial potential.

  1) Best Small Business Ideas For Women 2) What are Some Beneficial Government Policies for Small Home-Based Businesses in India? 3) Top 10 Businesswomen in the Industry & What You Can Learn From Them 4) How to Start a Flower Shop Business in India? 5) OkCredit: Simple, Paperless & Secure solution for businesses

  Stay updated with new business ideas & business tips with OkCredit blogs in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi & more! Download OkCredit now & get rid of your bookkeeping hassles. OkCredit is 100% Made in India.

  

  Q. Is it essential to have Internet banking to start a new business?

  Ans. Yes, Internet banking is mandatory, as physical payment is not an option in the current scenario.

  Q. How numerous video call apps help in lockdown?

  Ans. Zoom meetings, webinars, google meets, etc. are suitable for holding more immersive sessions that include extensive audience involvement or the division of the audience into smaller classes.

  Q. Can I sell handmade items online?

  Ans. You can sell hand-made goods online from your own store founded on a website such as Shopify, third-party marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay, and social networking platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.

  Q. What is online marketing?

  Ans. Online marketing is the process of using web-based platforms to communicate with potential customers regarding a company's brand, goods, or services.

  Read the best of business ideas, tips for small businesses, the latest update on technology & more by OkCredit.

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  Surviving COVID: The challenges facing India’s small businesses

  COVID dealt a heavy blow to India’s small businesses, but some have used technology and creative thinking to survive.

  

  Mumbai, India – Standing behind the counter of what is widely acknowledged as India’s oldest sports shop, fourth-generation owner Manohar Wagle reflects on how the COVID-19 pandemic finally forced his family’s 155-year old business to enter the 21st century.

  “People are so hesitant to leave their homes and want to do everything online now, even if stores like ours are open again,” the 62-year-old proprietor told Al Jazeera. “We had to respond to that”.

  Wagle now spends much of his day speaking with customers on WhatsApp, sharing pictures of his stock and initiating online transactions through GooglePay.

  In India, the continuing struggle to contain the world’s second-largest coronavirus outbreak has crushed demand, upended supply chains and transformed consumer habits. To survive the changed landscape and uncertainty brought by virus protocols, many small businesses are innovating or adapting their business models to cope.

  Wagle Sports, for example, now allows customers across Mumbai to shop for its products over WhatsApp without leaving home; a totally contact-free buying experience.

  The company, which usually employs 10 people but is currently down to four staff members, also decided to offer free delivery after WhatsApp orders for carrom boards (an Indian game similar to pool involving small discs that are flicked into corner pockets) and home fitness equipment surged.

  “We had to [move online] even though it is a significant cost for us,” explained Wagle. “Otherwise we would have lost out to sites like Amazon, who already offer murderous discounts”.

  Catering to retail customers, as opposed to organisations, became even more important for Wagle after the government’s coronavirus restrictions shut schools and sports clubs – a move that eradicated 70 percent of the business’s revenue.

  Without large reserves of capital to fall back on, small businesses like his – and across the world – have been the hardest hit by the pandemic-induced downturn.

  More than a third of small and medium enterprises surveyed in June by the All India Manufacturers’ Organisation said their businesses were beyond rescuing.

  

  Their financial health and recovery are key to many Indian livelihoods – micro and small enterprises employ around 110 million workers and contribute 30 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

  “Smaller enterprises will have to be more innovative than larger ones and exploit technology to their advantage if they want to survive,” Radhicka Kapoor, an economist at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), told Al Jazeera.

  The ones that survive this crisis are more likely to be those that have been more successful in the past, adds Kapoor. “We are likely to witness a sort of natural sifting of weaker players from the strong.”

  A digital future

  For small business co-owner Kuntal Malia of StyleNook, surviving the pandemic involved rapidly shifting the focus of her company.

  Overnight, demand for their personalised office-wear recommendation service – aimed at Mumbai’s city workers – collapsed.

  “Our customers loved what we did, but at the same time we kept hearing that they didn’t need anything right now,” Malia told Al Jazeera.

  “We spent the first few months of the shutdown just thinking how we were going to get through this.”

  But the pressure of paying rent on an office space and the fear of becoming irrelevant can be a powerful motivator.

  Soon they decided to add loungewear, pyjamas and other clothes more suited to pandemic-era lifestyles, to their existing supply of shirts and shift dresses.

  StyleNook’s sales have now recovered to pre-pandemic levels. And with more Indian consumers getting used to shopping online for groceries during and after the lockdown, Malia says the company’s future is bright. She believes people are likely to increasingly use the internet for fashion purchases.

  Another survival strategy for StyleNook was to help vendors who were stuck with excess stock due to cancelled orders. Partnering with manufacturers who had never previously thought about selling direct to consumers also helped.

  “We’ve been able to let them know what kind of things customers are now looking for,” Malia says.

  

  Strategies like these could offer untold opportunities for India’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) says Amit Basole, associate professor of economics at Bengaluru’s Azim Premji University.

  “Digital platforms could help them access larger markets and ride out rough times,” he told Al Jazeera.

  He points to organisations like The Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) as an example. Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, they were helping women entrepreneurs market their wares nationally or join Airbnb to help build their own ecotourism ventures in remote and rural areas of India.

  Basole says initiatives such as one by Chinese city officials to help farmers promote their produce on video-streaming and e-commerce sites at the height of the pandemic are instructive.

  “These models are out there and I think there is a lot we can learn from them,” said Basole. “Re-directing more policy attention in this area could be really useful”.

  ‘No financial footprint’

  In an economy that relies heavily on consumer demand to drive growth (private consumption accounts for three-fifths of the economy), small businesses adapting, pivoting and turning to creativity for their survival may not be enough.

  The pandemic has plunged consumer confidence to record depths, registering 49.9 on the Reserve Bank of India’s monthly survey index last September – the lowest ever. India was already struggling to provide enough jobs for its people, but millions more have been lost in recent months and are not guaranteed to return.

  Inflation at uncomfortably high levels and signs of household incomes coming under stress could mean insurmountable hurdles for many struggling small businesses.

  “If you look out the window it almost looks like things are normal, but this is not translating into sales,” said Wagle, the sports store owner. “The future is very uncertain right now.”

  India’s government has unrolled a collateral-free credit scheme worth around $42bn to support cash-strapped MSMEs. Around $20bn had reached businesses as of November, according to government figures.

  But analysts say the programme may not be helping those who need it the most.

  “Informal firms dominate the micro and small-business landscape and many of them have no financial footprint,” says ICRIER’s Kapoor.

  She explained that business owners operating in the informal economy – such as street vendors who have not registered with authorities – are ineligible for the loan scheme, or for another programme that offers wage support for registered employees.

  The prospect of plunging deeper into debt may be another reason why many businesses may have passed up the government’s offer of credit.

  “In a pandemic situation when the future is very uncertain, many MSMEs are thinking: why would I want to take on additional liabilities?” Amit Bhardwaj, secretary-general of the Federation of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (FISME) told Al Jazeera. “Plus, taking additional loans ultimately affects your credit rating.”

  

  After the twin economic shocks of demonetisation – when the government decided overnight in 2016 to ban large-denomination bank notes to curb corruption – and the bungled rollout of a goods and services tax the following year, many small businesses were left reeling. Their capacity to withstand another crisis was heavily diminished.

  While pivoting out of the COVID-19 crisis by radically changing their business model has worked for some, others have lacked the resources and capacity to try such moves.

  “Entrepreneurial spirit is never lacking, usually it’s the structural constraints and vulnerability to failure that restricts people,” says economist Basole. “If businesses have the room and capacity to take risks, we could see many more reorienting and trying to be more innovative.”

  Many analysts have suggested the government should be injecting cash into the economy to revive consumer demand. This, in turn, would benefit small businesses and the economy as a whole, they say.

  “Cheap liquidity can only go so far,” says Basole. “There is no substitute for a direct fiscal outlay – and it needs to be much larger than what we have seen so far.”

  Economists have criticised the government’s moderate spending during the crisis, which is estimated to be closer to 1 percent of GDP and not the 10 percent figure claimed by the finance ministry.

  For now, sports retailer Wagle says he is surviving because of “conservative living” until the pandemic subsides and normality returns.

  He is grateful for the fact that he owns his premises and so has no rent to pay or debts hanging over him. “Many others will not be so lucky,” he says.

  This article is part of Al Jazeera Digital’s ongoing series profiling small businesses around the globe that have survived market disruptions from COVID-19 as well as economic challenges unique to their countries. Click to read about small businesses in Tehran  and Beirut.

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  [Best] Top 18 Future Business Ideas For 2022 In India

  

  Get all knowledge about the Top Future Business Ideas for 2022 in India and how you can receive these Future Businesses in India and dominate in them just with some little venture.

  In the event that you want to start 2022 with a Bang, especially with your financial situation, at that point, you should consider investing in profitable businesses that can help your pay while moving you snappier towards your independence from the rat race objective.

  However, not long before you jump into the expanse of entrepreneurship, you should delay and reevaluate the choices.

  Also check: Find your perfect online job

  Only one out of every odd business is reasonable on the off chance that you are taking a gander at adaptability and simplicity of tasks. You need to understand what industry is productive, what specialty to agree to, and what business you should begin.

  In the case that you are hoping to get position yourself for Business Opportunities in 2022 in India . Then you are at right place . Let’s explore more about upcoming business ideas in India.

  Future Business Ideas List

  Here is the Top Future Business Ideas For 2022 In India – 1. IoT ( Internet of Things) industry 2. 3D printing 3. Outsourcing business 4. Amazon FBA Program 5. Rise of co-working space 6. Creating And Selling Digital Products 7. Renewable and Clean Energy supplies 8. Mobile wallet payment solution 9. Warehouse or Inventory Management for E-Commerce 10. Indian Culture E-Commerce Niche Store 11. Biometric Sensor Company 12. Bookkeeping 13. DDOS cyber-attack prevention security company 14. Skyscraper greenhouses 15. P2P Lending 16. Blogging 17. Domain Selling 18. Stock Market Trading

  Here is the list of Top 18 Future Business Ideas for 2022 in India .

  

  1. IOT (Internet of Things) Industry

  Internet of things implies each item that is being utilized by individuals has a web network to send and get information. Mckinsey gauges that IOT will have expected development and effect at $ 11.1 Trillion on the economy by 2025.

  

  You Also Like – Business Ideas in Bangalore

  The best illustration of it is Ola or Uber or Lyft taxi administration where you get a moment ride. Climate control systems and TV are being associated with the web to outdo administrations through web progression in the innovative area which makes this business extremely worthwhile. This is one of the new business thoughts that has an astounding future for 2025 or 2030.

  2. 3D Printing

  This is the best business to start in India in 2022.3D printing business is getting one of the most profitable businesses these days. Over the most recent couple of years, this is getting acclaimed all around the world.

  

  At first, the 3D printers were expensive and not reasonable for a few businessmen, but rather as time passed, the costs progressively declined and this printer is much in reach now.

  The cost of a 3D printer relies on the particular and highlights you require. All you require is to buy a hardware set for the shop and start your new venture.

  3. Outsourcing Business

  As per the World Economic Forum (WEF) report, the workplace will change later on and the outsourcing business will blast in the coming decade. Forbes magazine uncovered that half populace of created nations like America, Australia, Canada are working autonomously yet they need representatives to work.

  

  On the off chance that they enlist workers locally, they can’t make up great benefits because of high working costs. Along these lines, to lessen the startup cost and augment benefits, the businesses are outsourcing the venture to the individuals of agricultural nations where taught individuals are accessible at a significant modest expense. India and China are genuine instances of it.

  Simultaneously, individuals from agricultural nations, particularly India, the Philippines, and so forth, are taking in substantial income from an independent business. Individuals are offering virtual administrations on the web and expanding their business step by step, which implies that outsourcing is really getting best amongst other Future Business Ideas for 2022 in India.

  4. Amazon FBA Program

  Amazon FBA just signifies “ Fulfilled By Amazon .” In this industry, you basically purchase modest items from wholesalers and sell them at greater costs on Amazon. You should manage white named items, and boat them to Amazon satisfaction focuses where they handle the transportation, bundling, and backing for the items.

  

  In the event that you can re-appropriate the stock administration and have a bookkeeper to keep up your Amazon Seller Account while refreshing it consistently, this is an exceptionally worthwhile wellspring of automated revenue.

  5. Rise of Co-working Space

  The trends of future services offices will change. Because of high rental costs, it is hard for independent ventures to bear the cost of a different office space. So individuals are settling on working in collaborating spaces.

  

  It encourages them to lessen rental costs, yet additionally to share mastery and abilities. In the event that you have free space, at that point begin working a collaborating space business. It is another business idea which is futuristic.

  6. Creating And Selling Digital Products

  This is the place where you make and offer your digital products to a group of people. Generally data products or self-facilitated programming. You essentially make the item and offer it to the client for a one-time charge, typically.

  

  It tends to be an eBook; here you simply need to compose your book and sell it. You could likewise sell online courses, or make and sell versatile games, or even portable applications. There’s no restriction to what you can offer with regards to digital products. Simply pick a region you major in and will work there.

  Also Read – How to Hire a Virtual Assistant : Best guide for hiring a Virtual Assistant

  7. Renewable and Clean Energy Supplies

  The world is progressing at a lot quicker speed than anticipated, yet we are confronting a lot of issues with respect to energy. Some Asian nations are as yet depending intensely on conventional wellsprings of energy like coal power plants, petroleum products, atomic or hydro energy which is created from the sources that should be risky to our current circumstance.

  

  Simultaneously, sustainable power sources have been stressed a great deal through which the climate can be saved. It is an extraordinary open door for the individuals who need to begin a business on a medium scale. It is one of the greens and clean business ideas that you can jump upon. This is a standout amongst other Future Business Ideas in India.

  8. Mobile Wallet Payment Solution

  With the sharp headways in technology improvement in the mobile world, individuals currently favor not to manage money exchanges, regardless of whether it is payments, shopping or move of assets. They are searching for a mobile payment solution that is dependable, safe and made sure about.

  

  This business idea would require a fair measure of startup capital. Hacking and cybercrime and extortion are the couple of things which make this undertaking profoundly dangerous.

  9. Warehouse or Inventory Management for E-Commerce

  E-Commerce has been developing at a considerable pace. The warehouse management organization would provide fulfillment for e-commerce stores and this one is good Future Business Ideas For 2022 In India

  

  Instead of an e-commerce store, setting up their circulation channels, purchasing fleet trucks, and warehouses to store the products, this organization would do it just for them. This is a larger scale business idea, yet in addition, can possibly make a ton of money.

  10. Indian Culture E-Commerce Niche Store

  

  So many people around the globe appreciate the culture of India. They like to decorate their homes with authentic workmanship pieces reflecting Indian culture. By setting up an e-commerce store that specifically sells these social items, you can begin an innovative profitable venture. I think it’s really a good Future Business Ideas For 2022 in India.

  11. Biometric Sensor Company

  Biometric sensors are the sensors that can recognize your retina or your fingerprints to specifically identify a person. The rising need for higher security measures and backing from the Indian government for the Internet of Things (IoT) Technology, it would not be long until people are putting biometric sensors in everything.

  

  This creates an excellent business idea to sell the sensors to companies that introduce them into products or services. This business can be profoundly rewarding as global companies would likely work with you as they use biometric sensors more and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. One of the great futuristic business in India that has already kicked-in at this point.

  12. Bookkeeping

  When it comes to business ownership, bookkeeping and accounting are absolute necessities. For some entrepreneurs, money management is the very most noticeably awful piece of their business because they simply don’t have a clue how to do this.

  

  This means that new companies and independent ventures are consistently keeping watch for anyone who is finance-keen. Whether you are a licensed CPA or simply a smartbooks wizard at accounting and bookkeeping, you may very well meet all requirements to help your fellow entrepreneurs get their books all together.

  Bookkeeping as a business has a net revenue of about 19.8% and is a longstanding profitable business for entrepreneurs. As a bookkeeper for the firm, you can attend to the invoices and finance, compile expenses reports, and other stuff.

  

  13. DDOS Cyber-Attack Prevention Security Company

  DDOS attacks (where hackers create such a great amount of traffic to a website that it crashes the server) are becoming a typical threat to some businesses in India. With quick internet speed the nation over, more and more hackers will target companies.

  

  You can create an organization that can identify the assault and prevents them from happening in any case. Albeit some organizations are already doing this, there is a great deal of space to make money in this area. It is a medium cost business as you would be requiring server space just as software and coding needed to be done to create a DDOS security company.

  14. Skyscraper Greenhouses

  Land is consistently becoming a scarce resource as the populace is increasing step by step. This is creating a problem of giving fresh vegetables and organic products to communities in a savvy and sustainable manner.

  

  By building greenhouses that are vertical like a skyscraper with multiple levels of different leafy foods, one can develop more yields. This is a significant expense idea as the structure must be enabled with sensors to screen temperature, mugginess, etc. to develop the perfect yield. It is one of the trending new business ideas now.

  15. P2P Lending

  P2P lending is a decent business model because it can help communities and people with credits. Everyone does not need or can access the bank for a credit so the p2p lending stage is a great choice.

  

  Investors might want to put the money up for credits and receive a great higher interest rate. You can initiate this business by creating a safe and secure stage where people could invest their money and a route for users to create profiles with accurate credit scores.

  16. Blogging

  Blogging is one of the most profitable businesses you can start in 2022 many bloggers are earning more than 7 figures per month just from blogging, if you want to know how you can start blogging then check out this post .

  

  Blogging can make you self independent this is one of the most ligit business anyone can start now for more returns.

  17. Domain Selling

  Now a days Domain become real-estate of Digital world .

  Individuals have gone to the understanding that on the off chance that you need to buy a decent brandable .com domain name, you must compensation premium Money for it.

  

  If you are thinking about going into domain selling business, you need to focus on the most recent patterns on the lookout. If you don’t consider the market and see where the buzz is arising, you may miss out over the long haul.

  Note additionally that going into domaining requires a heavy Investment in purchasing many domain and if even one is sold for a thousands of dollars, you cash in big time.

  18. Stock Market Trading

  If you have decent information about the stock market and trading, then you can choose stock market trading.

  

  If you are very good at trading, then you can make a decent profit margin.

  However, this business requires a great knowledge of stock market trading and also need heavy initial investment.

  Also Read – Upcoming Big Ipo in 2021 : Flipkart, Olx, Zomato, Nykaa and many more

  All future business options given above have so many of possibilities. Some of the business ideas may sound ridiculous as of now however you can’t overlook it as time will show the fate of these company. You have to invest your time, energy, and Money on these business thoughts to make your future secure.

  Which business is best future in India?

  Here is the Top Future Business Ideas For 2022 In India – 1. IOT ( Internet of Things) industry 2. 3D printing 3. Outsourcing business 4. Amazon FBA Program 5. Rise of co-working space 6. Creating And Selling Digital Products 7. Renewable and Clean Energy supplies 8. Mobile wallet payment solution 9. Warehouse or Inventory Management for E-Commerce 10. Indian Culture E-Commerce Niche Store 11. Biometric Sensor Company 12. Bookkeeping 13. DDOS cyber-attack prevention security company 14. Skyscraper greenhouses 15. P2P Lending 16. Blogging 17. Domain Selling 18. Stock Market Trading

  Which business is fast growing in India?

  Indian medical services industry is developing at gigantic speed and is considered as one of the quickest developing industry because of expanded infiltration of innovation, improved network and upgraded medical services strategies

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  Top 8 instagram business ideas in 2023, what is quick commerce | features of quick commerce 2022, becoming a fabricator: career description and guide for 2022, 43 comments.

  This is the best article for a new be want to start a new business.

  Thank you Shubham.

  great article for business ideas

  Very interesting and informative article. Thanks for share such type of precious article.

  Thanks, man!!! want more info like these!!!

  आप ने अपने वेबसाइट को बचुत ही अच्छा बनाया है और साथ ही आप लोगो को अच्छी जानकरी भी दे रहे है और मैंने भी एक ब्लॉग paisa kamane ke tarika के ऊपर बनाया है और मई इसमें पैसे कमाने के तरीके बताता हु और मई अभी अपने ब्लॉग से 1000-1500 रूपए कमा ले रहा हु आप को इतनी अच्छी जानकरी देने के लिए धन्यवाद

  Someone aske me for the right business for future growth. No I can suggest him for 3D printing, it can be best for future business.

  Thank you Subham brother.

  The article you have shared here very awesome. I really like and appreciated your work.

  Thank you Sir! I’m always looking for more ways to get my blog out there and inspire more people. Thanks for all the new ideas I got!

  Thanks for this useful Post

  Great. These unique ideas will really help the upcoming entrepreneur.

  आप बहुत अच्छी जानकारी देते है। मुझे भी आपकी तरह एक ब्लॉगर बनना है। आप अपने ब्लॉग पर सभी जानकारी बहुत विस्तार से समझाते है। अगर आपको याद होगा तो मैंने पहले भी आपकी पोस्ट में कमेंट की है।

  Super idias

  stay tuned with us, thanks

  आपके ब्लॉग की सारी पोस्ट अच्छी है। इससे पहले में दो और लेख पढ़े है, आपके ब्लॉग पर।

  I always receive the best information from your site. So, I feel that your site is the best. I am waiting for new information from you.

  I am looking for some good blog sites for study. I was searching for search engines and found your blog site.

  Thanks Bro….. Such a great & insightful article…. I always find your articles excellently written!!!

  Your content is amazing! Thanks so much ??

  These All Ideas is the the for every entrepreneur.

  Thanks For This Information.

  Very nice informative post. You have explained nicely about business ideas.

  Thank you for this awesome post.

  Your content is really amazing. I am permanent reader of your blog.

  Really Great Piece of content…… I will start domain selling business very soon

  Good Knowledge and information about Business Ideas For 2022 In India. Thanks, sir. Your content is amazing.

  Great Knowledge and information. Thanks, sir. Your content is amazing.

  Very interesting information, I get a lot from this article.I always read your article and see the information you provide in your site is easy to understand.keep writing Thanks a lot.

  really very nice artical

  All your blog posts are good. Before this, I have read two more articles, which was very good on your blog, tell me after seeing my blog post once.

  Very good information shared, thanks for this.

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  very good content

  Thanks a lot.

  Good information about future business ideas. Thanks for sharing this information.

  Good information thanks for providing this detailed article.keep it up.

  now i am going to start a new business.

  Bahut badhiya bhai

  Aise hi likhte rho?

  Best Information Brother

  I’m always looking for more ways to get my blog out there and inspire more people. Thanks for all the new ideas I got!

  Nice Information Thank You So Much

  The blog you shared is very good. I expect more information from you like this blog. Thanks for sharing wonderful information.

  LEAVE A REPLY Cancel reply

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  Post Covid-19 Trends of Entrepreneurship According to the Changed Market Demand With the recovery from this crisis as the fulcrum of the community for entrepreneurs, it has become crucial to estimate and predict the future trajectory of entrepreneurial success and market leadership

  By Debasish Sinha • Jul 20, 2020

  Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

  You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

  Organizations are impelled to reassess their business strategies due to the occurrence of COVID-19 pandemic and its proliferation across the globe. The potential for survival and sustainability has become a matter of concern for many business leaders and entrepreneurs in the wake of the widespread negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic. With the recovery from this crisis as the fulcrum of the community for entrepreneurs, it has become crucial to estimate and predict the future trajectory of entrepreneurial success and market leadership. In a post-pandemic (COVID-19) world, growth avenues of entrepreneurship need to be ascertained since it is vital for making positive on the Indian economy. In the landscape of academia and the tentative business world, these aspects are needed to be addressed with a strategic focus on entrepreneurial growth and productivity augmentation.

  With the appearance and growing manifestation of COVID-19 pandemic, a few trends have come into the limelight in business. Work from home or remote work is one of these trends that has gained immense popularity among entrepreneurs and businessmen. In recent research published in the International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology, Purwanto et al. (2020) notified that work from home is disadvantageous and advantageous for corporate entities at the same time and irrespective of these, the realization of this particular concept requires accountability of both employers and employees along with the maximization of communication and optimal of the state-of-the-art technology.

  The application of work from home concept by entrepreneurs requires the accentuation on effective management as well. Referring Mercer survey result, it is deduced that work from home aids environmental, social and governance initiatives of the organization with a focus on bringing about changes in the traditional course of work office (Mercer, 2020). The global survey of Mercer also shows that 75 per cent of organizations are putting a focus on changing policies and philosophies so that workforce is encouraged to work flexibly. Leveraging emerging technology, virtual business meetings, yearning for the new content for customer engagement are the trends that hallmark the newly emerged paradigm of business practices and entrepreneurship.

  Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses have become affected negatively. To cut back expenditure, many of the businesses are downsizing. To stay competitive and ensure continuity of business, the first thing that needs to be done is to embrace a feasible marketing strategy so that the survival of business can be ensured. Owing to COVID-19, the education sector has felt the need of maximising digital interactions for making learning productive and mutually beneficial. Of late, the vice-chancellor of the Eternal University (Himachal Pradesh, India) asserted that the use of online media is an undeniable and existing phenomenon the relevance of which cannot be denied (Digital Learning Network, 2020). This paradigm shift is hallmarked by the increasing use of Zoom, WhatsApp, Hangout, and other learning portals.

  Despite hit hard by COVID-19 pandemic, the media industry has been able to keep its chief stakeholder (i.e. customer) informed and engaged through providing up-to-date information. COVID-19 pandemic is beneficial for PR professionals since managing investor and industry relations is of prime importance for business leaders or to be exact media barons and mediapreneurs. In an effort of conveying messaged to clients, publicity and advertising are deemed necessary. In this situation, the PR and advertising industry would likely be beneficial in the post-COVID 19 words. E-commerce is another sector that has been beneficial despite being affected by COVID-19 pandemic. Despite being faced with a stressful time, Amazon has been able to cope with the changing situation. Content production industry players such as Netflix and Amazon witnessed the increase in viewership as a result of which, their financial performance was escalated. Popularities of Skype and Zoom have surged since many organizations have shifted their preferences for these tools instead of offline face-to-face meetings (Bindra, 2020).

  The socialization during quarantine was made easier with the increased use of these video conferencing tools. Most importantly, the onset of COVID-19 pandemic triggered the augmentation of the sake of surgical and respiratory masks. Many businessmen, retailers, small shop owners have been selling masks at price higher than reasonable market rate and in case sticks are depleted, they are sold at a premium rate as well (Ghosh, 2020).

  People who are willing to pursue their careerist's ambitions in entrepreneurship need to study the market properly before investing. In light of the above-deciphered industrial trends, careful planning for a career in entrepreneurship is the need of time. In a research article published in the International Small Business Journal , Brown, Rocha & Cowling (2020) stated that chronic uncertainty posed by the COVID-19 pandemic made a major impact upon the entrepreneurial finance market to a greater degree. Personal disposable incomes of individuals have been reduced to a greater degree in the post-pandemic world. Since the wheels of economies across the world including India have been halted due to the unimaginable impact of a pandemic, there is a possibility that recession may occur in near future and it may continue till the next year. In this scenario, entrepreneurship is viewed as a vaccine to the affected global economy and employment.

  The burgeoning crisis arising out of COVID-19 pandemic has undermined the confidence of executives and investors to a greater extent. It is advised to young aspiring entrepreneurs to identify opportunities for augmenting profitability before entering into business. Referring to the research findings of Kawamorita et al. (2020) published in the Journal of Entrepreneurship, Business, and Economics, it can be recommended to entrepreneurs to make optimal use of digital technology, online network, and social media-enabled platforms.

  Growth estimation and opportunity exploration in the tentative market are important for entrepreneurs since they lead to rendering entrepreneurial efforts successful. In the post-COVID world, understanding the essence of digitalization and applying it in the real business scenario are the two aspects that would dominate successful entrepreneurial efforts in the future with a continuous focus on clients' satisfaction and engagement.

  Managing Director at insysdnet.com

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  Innovation That Matters

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  Innovation Snapshot

  7 Innovative Business Ideas in Response to Coronavirus

  Here are 7 of our favourite recent innovations that could change business for the better in the long-run..

  These are uncertain times, to say the least — priorities are shifting daily as a global health emergency is being dealt with on a global scale. All the while, businesses have been forced to act fast in response — to help others suffering through the crisis while attempting to stay on solid ground financially. 

  The trends we’ve been tracking are a mix of brand new approaches and the accelerated use of emerging technologies and platforms, such as live-streaming and virtual reality, to reshape business models and engage with consumers in creative ways.

  Time will tell whether or not the following innovative business ideas will have staying power in their respective industries once there is a return relative normalcy, but we at Springwise do find it inspiring to see so many interesting and creative solutions coming to light. 

  Springwise will continue to bring you the most purpose-driven innovations on a daily basis, including those that are directly relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the meantime, here are 7 of our favourites that could change business for the better in the long-run. 

  EDITOR’S NOTE: We’ve published a list of 7 More Business Ideas in Response to Coronavirus , featuring more recent innovations.

  

  1. NEW BUSINESS MODEL FOR AN UPSCALE RESTAURANT

  In the face of uncertainty, the Seattle restaurant Canlis thought strategically and adjusted to the new environment and its demands. The restaurant transformed into three pop-up restaurants: a drive-through burger joint, a bagel shop, and a “family meal” delivery service.

  The idea originated with the restaurant’s co-owners, Mark and Brian Canlis, who along with their team, started redesigning the restaurant in anticipation of the state’s announcement. Donated fryers have helped to keep up with the daily demand for burgers, and a shipping container was set up in the restaurant garden, where the bagels will be made. Previous servers will act as delivery people, meaning all 115 employees have been kept on (although this isn’t compulsory).

  “You have to play as much offence as you do defence . . . So what would we look like from scratch?” Mark said of his approach.

  Read more about this new restaurant business model. 

  

  2. NEW VIRTUAL STOREFRONT PLATFORM OFFERS FREE ACCESS TO RETAILERS

  If shoppers can’t visit the high street, why not bring the high street to shoppers? That is the idea behind Streetify, an e-commerce platform that launched in late March, just in time to help businesses respond to the COVID-19 crisis.

  With shoppers forced to stay at home, Streetify is hoping its website and free app will help connect consumers with local stores, to help keep them afloat. It is also providing retailers free access to the platform for one year in the U.K., U.S., Canada, India and Australia. 

  Users of the app and website can actually choose the street they wish to visit and can scroll left or right to “walk” up and down. They are shown virtual storefronts and can click on any store to enter its Streetify website. Once inside the “store”, consumers can see all of the special offers, deals and promotions that have been gathered from top deal sites such as Groupon and Rakuten. Business owners can also put messages in their virtual storefront windows, announcing deals, delivery options, in-stock goods and more.

  Read more about Streetify.

  

  3. A 72-HOUR PRODUCT LAUNCH, LIVE-STREAMED 

  Chinese mobile phone maker Xiaomi collaborated with the video platform Bilibili for a 72-hour, live-streamed launch event for its Mi 10 5G phone during the height of China’s coronavirus lockdown. 

  The event, which began on the 13th of February, featured a two-hour press conference with an emotional Lei Jun, Xiaomi’s founder, who unveiled the new phone, videos, product giveaways and a virtual art exhibit. There was also COVID-19-related content like vlogs from Wuhan residents and some educational programming.

  The streaming event, dubbed “Life is Not Made for Defeat,” pulled in around 12 million viewers and 2.6 million comments on Bilibili’s trademark “bullet chat” format, which streams user comments across the screen in real-time. 

  Read more about this live-streamed product launch. 

  MORE WISE WORDS FROM SPRINGWISE

  

  4. YOUCAM MAKEUP PROVIDES FREE AR TECH FOR BRANDS 

  As the global coronavirus pandemic picked up speed and non-essential stores closed, consumers turned to online ordering in unprecedented numbers. As a result, augmented reality developer Perfect saw interest grow in its AR beauty app, YouCam Makeup. The company decided to offer cosmetics brands free AR experiences, web subscriptions and product listings as a way to help them remain connected with their customers.

  The company offered brands a free subscription to their browser plug-in YouCam for Web, to help brands integrate virtual makeup “try-ons” into their websites. Perfect also waived the license fee for brands who sign up for YouCam A.R.T., an AR platform for live training sessions.

  Perfect’s technology lets shoppers sample makeup and hair colours virtually before they buy. Through its YouCam app, it also offers beauty aficionados interactive ways to connect with the global beauty community through virtual experiences, such as one-to-one on-demand beauty consultations and Livestream beauty shows.

  Read more about YouCam’s AR services.

  

  5. SKIP-CHECKOUT APP AIDS SHOPPERS 

  As shoppers practice social distancing and self-isolation, stores have seen a major increase in the number of customers using mobile checkout apps to avoid standing in lines. As a result, Fairway Markets ramped up the promotion of its skip-checkout app. At one point, the company was signing up more than 1,000 new users a day and has added additional servers to help process the extra orders.

  The company has been promoting its scan-and-go app on social media sites, as well as in stores. After shoppers download the app, they use their phones to scan product bar codes.  When they have finished with their shopping, users scan a special QR code that tells the app they are ready to pay. Around one in twenty transactions is audited after checkout by a store employee, to deter theft.

  Read more about the app.

  

  6. POPULAR TAKEAWAY DELIVERY APP ADDS GROCERY ORDERS

  The UK delivery service Deliveroo, which is mainly used for restaurant food orders, partnered with grocery giant Marks and Spencer to provide essentials to households during the coronavirus pandemic. The M&S-Deliveroo delivery service is free and is aiming to drop-off orders in less than 30 minutes. 

  Deliveroo also explored other ways to help those in need during the pandemic. They recently launched “Essentials by Deliveroo,” where users can order tinned goods, pasta and other household items.

  Read more about the new delivery option.

  

  7. VR USED TO CREATE CLOUD FASHION SHOW

  During Paris Fashion Week, Lanvin collaborated with video platforms Douyin, Yizhibo, iQiyi, and luxury e-tailer Secoo to create a cloud fashion show. The brand also invited fashion bloggers and boyband UNINE’s Jiayi (嘉羿) to live stream the show’s behind-the-scenes action under the hashtag #lanvin云秀场 (#lanvinCloudBasedRunway), resulting in over 5 million views.

  Beyond its new clothing, Lanvin’s latest handbags – which are inspired by everyday objects like takeaway boxes for cakes –  peaked on Chinese social media, starting conversations and helping direct a younger audience to the brand.

  Read more about Lanvin’s cloud fashion show. 

  

  15th April 2020

  
  

  India: how coronavirus sparked a wave of innovation

  

  Chancellor's Fellow (Lecturer) in Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Leadership, University of Strathclyde

  Disclosure statement

  Sreevas Sahasranamam receives funding from Scottish Funding Council for a Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) project.

  University of Strathclyde provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK.

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  Entrepreneurs and innovators across India have responded quickly to the challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. A host of new innovations, some emerging from start-ups that have been incubated by universities, have appeared in recent weeks.

  There are a number of reasons for the quick response, including the urgency of the humanitarian situation and a proactive approach to crowdsourcing ideas from the government. India also has a wealth of trained engineering talent and helps foster what’s called jugaad – a frugal innovation mindset to find hacks to problems with limited resources.

  Robots, apps and ventilators

  Around the world, social distancing and contact tracing have been the buzzwords of the response to COVID-19. A particular problem as lockdowns begin to ease will be how to stop the virus spreading in public spaces such as airports or bus stations. Asimov Robotics, a start-up based in Kerala, has deployed robots at entrances to office buildings and other public places to dispense hand sanitiser and deliver public health messages about the virus.

  Robots developed by Asimov Robotics are also being deployed in hospital isolation wards to carry food and medicines, which eases the pressure on medical staff.

  In early April, the Indian government launched a COVID-19 tracking app called Aarogya Setu which uses GPS and Bluetooth to inform people when they are at risk of exposure to COVID-19. The app was launched before a similar initiative from tech giants Google and Apple got off the ground.

  Start-ups including KlinicApp and Practo, are providing COVID-19 tests at home and online consultation with doctors through their platform.

  In response to the shortage of ventilators for critical care, start-ups such as Nocca Robotics (incubated at Indian Institute of Technology(IIT)-Kanpur), Aerobiosys Innovations (incubated at IIT Hyderabad) and AgVa Healthcare are developing low-cost, easy-to-use, and portable ventilators that can be deployed even in rural areas of India. These ventilators would need medical regulatory approval before they could be deployed.

  Start-ups are also supporting the government’s public information campaign on coronavirus by developing technology platforms to disseminate government notifications. The Kerala state government launched an app called GoK-Kerala Direct using a platform developed by QKopy. It sends COVID-19 updates and travel information via phone notifications, and via SMS to older phones for the less than half of India’s population without smartphones . These messages are delivered both in English and in Malayalam, the local language.

  The hygiene of public spaces is another area of notable innovation. Start-ups such as Aqoza technologies and PerSapien claim they have developed chemical formulations that disinfect public spaces. Aqoza’s approach, developed during an outbreak of Nipah virus in Kerala in 2018, is a water-based sanitiser disinfectant, while Airlens minus Corona from PerSapien is a machine which the company claims dispenses ionised water droplets to oxidise the viral protein.

  Another startup, Droom, claims it has come up with a special anti-microbial coating called Corono Shield, which inhibits the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria, algae, yeast, moulds, and mildew on the surfaces of vehicles. It is being tested by police in Gurugram in Haryana state.

  Start-ups such as Marut Dronetech have partnered with state governments to test the use of drones to monitor adherence to social distancing rules. Drones are also being used to deliver medical supplies and even check people’s temperature using thermal imaging .

  Connecting people

  My conversations with some of these entrepreneurs and innovators from India have highlighted a good example of the triple helix model of innovation , integrating efforts between universities, industries (start-ups) and the government, in response to COVID-19. Although the active involvement of engineering volunteers from universities and industry is the lifeblood of these innovations, two other enabling factors are also particularly crucial.

  First, the intermediary organisations helping to bring the three groups together. For instance, the national government’s Department of Science and Technology has set up a task force to map technologies developed by start-ups related to COVID-19. It is also funding start-ups to develop relevant innovations such as rapid testing for the virus .

  Another example is that of the Kerala Start-up Mission (KSUM), a government-supported entrepreneurship development agency. It launched initiatives such as “ Breath of Hope ” which brings together an interdisciplinary volunteer team of IT professionals, biomedical engineers and doctors to develop innovative medical devices. Start-ups such as Asimov Robotics and QKopy are part of KSUM.

  

  Crowdsourcing ideas

  Second, crowdsourced platforms have also proved to be an important channel for bringing together the wisdom from universities, industry and government. The national government launched the COVID-19 solution challenge on March 16 that invites innovators to offer ideas and solutions for tackling the pandemic. Industry associations such as the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry collaborated in an online hackathon to develop non-medical solutions for COVID-19.

  Similar crowdsourced platforms from start-up incubators such as BreakCorona received 1,300 ideas and 180 product solutions within two days of launch. In another effort, volunteers have set up an online crowdsourced portal called Coronasafe-Network , a real-time open-source public platform containing details on COVID-19 precautions, tools and responses which serves as a useful starter-kit for innovators.

  India needs to sustain and enhance this entrepreneurial mindset to create the next wave of innovation to continue the fight against COVID-19 and for the socio-economic recovery once lock-down restrictions begin to ease.

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  A post-Covid business opportunity

  The coronavirus pandemic has influenced foreign firms to shift operations out of china. india must spruce up domestic business environment to take advantage.

  

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting on April 30 to develop a strategy to attract FDI, particularly foreign firms wanting to move out of China, to boost investment. In fact, the Indian government is reportedly in the process of identifying and developing 4.6 lakh hectares of land, including 1.1 lakh hectares of existing land in industrial areas, and planning fiscal incentives in the form of preferential tax rates, tax holidays etc in order to attract foreign firms. Further, a few state governments are also proactively working to capitalise on the opportunity.

  The initiatives by the government are timely; they are coming at a time when foreign companies are looking to shift their production base out of China and their home countries are facilitating the move. Japan has announced $2 billion worth of incentives and Korea is encouraging its firms to shift from China too. It is not surprising that approximately one thousand companies are in discussions with the GoI to set up their production base in India. China has been the world’s factory for the last three decades mainly because of its FDI-led manufacturing exports. Almost 50 per cent of China’s growth comes from exports, creating millions of jobs.

  

  Unlike the US, Italy, Spain and a few other countries, the COVID pandemic has, so far, not been severe in India in terms of both positive cases and fatality rate, if we normalise for the population. The initial stimulus package of Rs 1.7 lakh crore in March, followed by liquidity measures by the RBI and now, the stimulus package of Rs 20 lakh crore may help the Indian economy towards a vertical (V-shape) recovery. Therefore, post Covid, India could be the brightest spot among the emerging economies when it comes to attracting FDI. “Make in India” will become a success provided we prepare the ground and grab the opportunity.

  Initially, China attracted foreign investors with decentralised and favourable FDI policy that had a lot of incentives with regard to land, utilities, infrastructure and logistics. Cheap labour, large SEZs, favourable pricing of inputs, and an under-valued currency facilitated and attracted foreign firms. However, these advantages have reached a saturation point. In fact, foreign firms are now dealing with a higher cost of production, higher wages, stricter environmental norms etc. Many foreign firms have consequently moved their production bases to Southeast Asian countries.

  The situation for foreign firms in China has become more unfavourable in the last few years. First, the US-China tariff wars happened, which created uncertainty vis-a-vis trade and investment in China. Leading MNCs whose production facilities in China were part of their global value chain became suspicious about business viability and expansion there. The latest reason to now worry foreign firms is the origin of the coronavirus outbreak, and the lack of transparency in handling the pandemic — leading to a lack of trust of the major economies when it comes to China. The coronavirus outbreak in China disrupted the supply chain of the foreign firms, and it is also going to be the point of contention between China and the rest of the world.

  Moreover, the fight for supremacy in technology and military, the differences between US-China on trade, intellectual property rights, and geo-political issues, are here to stay. Therefore, foreign companies which heavily depended on China are now looking to diversify the risk to their supply chain by moving out of China. And India offers them the best alternative.

  India, the world’s fifth largest economy with an abundant labour force, offers the best alternative in terms of depth and size of the markets. With the median age of 27 and around 900 million “working-age” population, India is a young and aspirational economy. In the past, China used its huge labour force in manufacturing by attracting FDI — it’s time for India to do the same, particularly when foreign firms are looking for an alternative manufacturing base. According to a UNDP report, India will have a working age population of 1.14 billion, with rising urbanisation and a populating middle-class by 2025, creating a huge domestic market. India is also a resource-rich country. Therefore, India has its stage set to attract both market-seeking and resource-seeking FDI.

  Starting from the early 1990s, India has progressively opened up sectors with hiked FDI equity to foreign investors under automatic routes. In recent years, there have been many proactive steps to facilitate foreign investors such as 24*7 online service to investors, response-query mechanism, proactive intervention with all the state governments, follow ups with all the GoI departments, reduction in documents for exports-imports from 11 to three, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, and the creation of country specific (such as Japan and Korea) desks among others.

  All these reforms resulted in India improving its ranking in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business report and also in the world competitive index in the last three years. No wonder, India has been ranked by multiple international bodies as one of the most favoured designations for FDI. Moreover, unlike China, India is a stable democracy where governance and rule-making is much more open and accountable.

  However, simply opening of the sectors or the economy, and inviting foreign investors, will not be enough. We need to create a conducive and favourable business environment that enables foreign firms to manufacture at a competitive cost and use abundant resources like manpower. We need market reforms such as rationalising punitive land acquisition clauses and multiple labour laws, both at Centre and state level. It is time to speed up work on the four labour codes on industrial relations at a central level. The government should augment the work on infrastructure, logistics and trade facilitation so that trade and transaction costs, crucial for FDI firms, are reduced.

  The need of the hour is also to redesign and revamp SEZs and EPZs policy for better performance. Though the reforms are very progressive at the central government and higher bureaucracy level, things are different at the level of state governments and lower bureaucracy — which actually matters when it comes to the implementation of projects and economic activities. It is time to train and bring about reforms at the lower bureaucracy level, which is not ready to give up their power. FDI will not only augment capital formation, it will also act as a vehicle for technology upgradation, skills development, exports promotion, job creation and the improvement of overall competitiveness of the economy. This is an opportunity for India in the post-Covid era. If we grab this opportunity, the next 30 years would belong to India at the global stage.

  

  The writer is a professor at Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), Delhi

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  India’s economy after Covid

  Digitalisation is helping the top and the bottom, but jobs are a big concern.

  
  • India's Economy

  One cost of the past two years of limited air travel is that it became too easy to lose touch with what was really happening in other countries. Having not returned in a number of years, a trip last month was a reminder that it’s always impressive to absorb, even fleetingly, how fast emerging economies such as India are changing, and notwithstanding the pandemic, largely improving. Better infrastructure, cleaner streets, more and better cars, fewer but better motorbikes, fancier shops and restaurants, way more mobile phones. The pace of change is well beyond what most people in rich countries like Australia are used to.

  Nowhere is India’s progress more evident than in the tech sector. In the past India’s tech story was all about its dynamic entrepreneurs and skilled IT workers. Today however, the most impressive elements are what is happening at the bottom of the pyramid, via digitally enabled inclusion.

  Sustained government efforts over more than a decade have delivered in spades. Most of India’s population now has access to both a unique biometric ID and a bank account. A decade ago, most lacked access to either formal identification or the banking system. A unified payments interface now allows for easy transfers and payments. And all this digitalisation is not only driving a boom in innovation and start-ups , but also enabling a promising modernisation of India’s notoriously “leaky” welfare system – using direct benefit transfers that are better targeted and reduce opportunities for corruption. Arriving just in time to make a difference during the pandemic, according to one study .

  India’s broader economic outlook however seems less rosy. Much is made of the fact that India is now expected to be the world’s fastest growing large economy, given China’s ongoing structural slowdown . India’s economy has certainly rebounded strongly and most official forecasts are for growth of about 7 per cent over the coming years, despite a troubled global economy.

  Delve only slightly deeper however, and things look less impressive.

  Other countries will likely retain most of the benefits of greater openness. India risks forfeiting them.

  India suffered an especially acute economic collapse in 2020. Despite the rebound, its economy is still 13 per cent below its pre-Covid trajectory (using earlier International Monetary Fund projections), or what might broadly be considered its “normal” running level – one of the biggest such gaps among major economies. None of the top economists I was able to speak to thought India would be able to close the gap ( nor does the IMF ). Many also suggested they wouldn’t be surprised if growth was much slower over the next few years, at say 5 per cent. High debt, a big budget deficit, accelerating inflation, and rising global interest rates mean India has little room to manoeuvre.

  Delivering growth of 5-7 per cent might still seem pretty good. But most economists think India needs upwards of 7 per cent growth to create enough decent jobs for its young and rapidly expanding workforce. Especially after the setbacks caused by the pandemic which destroyed many better jobs and sent migrant workers back to the countryside. A major point of concern is that labour force participation, especially among women, seems to have been falling since before Covid-19 struck.

  India has always struggled generating enough decent jobs, despite fast economic growth. The explanation lies in its unique growth model driven by relatively high skilled sectors (IT but also within manufacturing ) as opposed to the labour-absorbing low skilled manufacturing exports seen in most other non-resource driven rapid growth economies (in East Asia and more recently in Bangladesh).

  Delivering better jobs, and faster economic growth, will likely require getting Indian manufacturing going in a much bigger way.

  

  Economists generally think doing so requires greater openness to trade and foreign direct investment (FDI), especially as a means of integrating into global value chains. It concerns many then that the Modi government has instead increased tariffs while spurning the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Trade negotiations with selected partners, including Australia and the European Union, seem motivated more by diplomacy than economics, and a weak substitute for broader liberalisation in any case. India has joined the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, but the arrangement is not about market opening, at least for now.

  Distrust of China and concerns about supply chain resilience are driving factors but also cover for longstanding protectionist currents – now reinforced as the world seemingly converges on India’s more sceptical views of globalisation. Lost however is that most other leading economies are far more open than India to begin with, even if they are perhaps paring this back. Other countries will therefore likely retain most of the benefits of greater openness. India risks forfeiting them.

  The government has not however given up on manufacturing. It is just pursuing its own strategy. First, it is hoping that domestic reforms and infrastructure investment can themselves improve India’s manufacturing competitiveness by enough to make a substantial difference. Second, for selected subsectors, the government has rolled out “production linked incentives” (subsidies) aimed at closing the remaining competitiveness gap and luring relocating global supply chains – with some success to date for instance in attracting iPhone contractors such as Foxconn to set up shop.

  Supporters point to a jump in merchandise exports and FDI inflows as vindication. But a broader view suggests this is less meaningful than it seems. Trade in goods has boomed globally during the pandemic. India has only modestly outperformed the world average and global trade is expected to slow as demand conditions normalise (or worse). FDI inflows rose substantially through to the middle of 2021 but have eased since. India is big, so any improvement in manufacturing will be noticed. Relative to the size of India’s economy however, both merchandise exports and FDI continue to hover around the average levels seen last decade at 13 per cent and 2 per cent of GDP respectively.

  As Amita Batra, economics professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, has recently written for The Interpreter , a starting point to do better would be for Indian trade policy to prioritise deeper integration with ASEAN. Indeed, this was a key suggestion from several regional experts at the Delhi Dialogue on India-ASEAN relations (which is why I was in New Delhi in the first place).

  India’s economy will probably continue to grow reasonably fast. Moreover, digitalisation holds out the promise of dual benefits in driving business dynamism at the top and fostering greater inclusion through digitally enabled services and social transfers at the bottom. Whether India can generate enough decent jobs for its people however remains the big concern.  

  Roland Rajah’s travel was supported by Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) to attend the Delhi Dialogue on India-ASEAN relations.

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  Why is India manufacturing set to expand after COVID-19?

  Anshul jain • 09/09/2020.

  

  The COVID-19 pandemic has brought global manufacturing and supply chain realignment into sharp focus, with the outbreak accelerating a wide array of established trends. In particular we’ve seen supply chain vulnerabilities exposed when over-dependence and over-centralisation caused massive disruptions to the production cycles in the wake of this unprecedented health crisis. From strategic risk diversification to cost considerations and business continuity concerns, businesses are increasingly looking for alternative global manufacturing destinations, with manufacturing in India set to benefit.

  There are a lot of factors here that work in the favour of manufacturing in India. India has the 2nd largest labour pool globally as per the International Labour Organisation 2018 statistics and while it is extremely competitive on hourly wages comparison, the regulatory reforms and initiatives that have been undertaken over the past 3-4 years have set the ground for the India manufacturing ecosystem going forward.

  India’s rise to 63rd in the 2019 World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings from 142nd in 2014, ensured it was one of the most improved nations on the list. The push to lower corporate taxes has resulted in India offering one of the lowest corporate tax rates globally at 15% for new India manufacturing firms, clearly demonstrating the goal of ramping up manufacturing as a share of national GDP. From a comparative perspective, India’s manufacturing sector accounts for around 1/6th of the GDP, compared to China where manufacturing accounts for a 39% share of the country’s GDP.

  India manufacturing ranks high on the Manufacturing Risk Index (MRI) 2020 

  India’s attractiveness as a manufacturing destination is visible on the Cushman & Wakefield’s Manufacturing Risk Index 2020 , an annual ranking of the most suitable manufacturing locations among 48 nations in Europe, Americas and Asia Pacific. The index is based on 20 variables covering conditions, cost and risks. India ranks third in the list of most suitable locations for global manufacturing in terms of cost competitiveness and operating conditions .

  In particular, India performed exceptionally well in the cost scenario, which includes indicators such as labour, electricity, construction costs, ranking third after China and Vietnam. Although in the risk scenario, which considers economic, corporate, energy, natural disaster risks, India ranked relatively poorly in 30th place, the continued shift up the Ease of Doing Business rankings and the continued regulatory support for manufacturing should do much to assuage concerns.

  Regulatory Announcements and Incentives

  At the heart of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Vocal for Local is the drive for indigenisation of manufacturing, supporting not only the vast domestic demand but also attracting manufacturing firms to the large consumer base that the country offers. In particular, India has identified key industry clusters where the country has been performing well, including hardware and electronics, and rolled out incentives schemes like the PLI (Production Linked incentives) to support the re-shoring of large-scale electronics manufacturing to India. This follows the earlier implementation of the 100% FDI in contract manufacturing and the National Electronics Policy 2019. 

  The results of these policy decisions have been encouraging, with global OEMs and component manufacturers making a beeline to set up shop or expand capacity in India. Global players such as Wistron, Pegatron, Foxconn and Hon Hai from Taiwan, Samsung from South Korea, as well as firms from Germany and Austria have applied for benefits under the PLI scheme so far. 

  Indeed, from complete assembly to component manufacturing we’ve seen India shift to being considered a key part of global supply chain realignment. Further PLI schemes have been rolled out for medical devices manufacturing and incentives offered for pharmaceutical bulk drug production, the automotives, textiles and food processing, all of which have a strong domestic consumption component as well.

  Finally, there is also a renewed emphasis on making India self-reliant in defence equipment manufacturing, as well as becoming a global exporter. As a result, FDI under the automatic route in defence manufacturing was eased to 74% from the earlier 49%.

  The Infrastructure Push

  That trunk infrastructure development is needed to power the growth of India manufacturing is now a moot point. It has been well established that investments in infrastructure have the potential to yield multi-x results in how private investments chase such large public investments. India has an estimated USD 1.5 trillion expenditure planned for the next five years towards capacity building and augmentation in its infrastructure. 

  The target of doubling the existing port capacity of 1,500 MT, which itself has doubled in the last five years, bodes well, even as increasing port haulage, ship building capacity and using the port land for green energy generation will push the manufacturing agenda even further. 

  The investments in highways, road capacity increase, railways and the setting up of industrial corridors, thus connecting the industrial/manufacturing enclaves to trunk infrastructure, will greatly improve speed to market and support reduction in logistics costs.   

  Areas for improvement but progress being made 

  The government needs to push ahead with some key reforms to attract investments and boost India manufacturing. Easier land acquisition rules for industry, and labour reforms need urgent attention. The government has moved to consolidate 44 labour laws into four labour codes but, at present, only the Code on Wages has been passed by Parliament. The other three codes – Industrial Relations, Social Security, Health & Working Conditions – are still pending. Implementing a nationwide Investment Clearance Cell and National Logistics Policy , which were announced in Union Budget 2020-21 will create a more favourable investment scenario. 

  The Central government has made overtures to global firms who looking to reshore and/or diversify their manufacturing supply chains in the post COVID-19 world. Certain state governments have taken steps to reduce investment bottlenecks and boost investments. Karnataka has amended its land acquisition law and made it easier for companies to directly purchase land from farmers. Gujarat has announced that it will allot land to companies in 7 days and all necessary approvals will be provided in 15 days. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Telangana are preparing dedicated incentive packages for electronics manufacturers. Despite these state specific measures, the central government will have to take the lead in key structural reforms and policies for long term manufacturing growth in India. 

  A key opportunity that India missed out on was the potential of the SEZ Act, 2005. Meant to be a catalyst for driving global investment into the India manufacturing ecosystem through tax and fiscal incentives, the Act became the flag-bearer for the success of India’s services sector. However, lopsided growth and excess capacity in the SEZ areas still operational demonstrates that the policy clearly hasn’t borne the desired fruits to the extent it was envisaged. 

  Rather than dwelling on these issues, the time is now ripe either for a rebirth of the SEZ policy or to allow such aggregated land to be put to alternate, efficacious use for manufacturing units, post de-notification. Reimagining these areas as Employment & Economic Enclaves (as per the Baba Kalyani Report) and reinstating the tax benefits even as incentives for the manufacturing sector are clearly earmarked, will really allow for the policy to achieve its original, stated objectives.

  Tax reduction and related incentives though may not be enough. Becoming tax friendly and by extension industry-friendly is more critical. From simplification of the GST code to improving tax transparency and certainty in taxation policy and procedure are critical factors. While, tariff barriers on imports may support local manufacturing industry, mutually favourable trade agreements with other countries and regions will go a long way in giving a push to India manufacturing ambitions. 

  The window of opportunity is small and agility is needed to translate the efforts being made to woo the world’s global manufacturing giants into the reality of India becoming a prominent manufacturing nursery for the world. 

  To find out more about how we support the growing India manufacturing ecosystem, check out our dedicated page .

  2020 Global Manufacturing Risk Index

  

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  India’s Economy Shrinks Sharply as Covid-19 Slams Small Businesses

  The latest data firmly establishes India’s position among the worst-performing major economies, despite government spending meant to blunt the pandemic’s impact.

  

  By Emily Schmall

  NEW DELHI — China has come roaring back from the devastation of Covid-19 , and the United States, Europe and Japan are finding their feet. But the hundreds of millions of laborers and shopkeepers who keep India ’s economy running still can’t find relief.

  India’s economy shrank 7.5 percent in the three months that ended in September compared with a year earlier, government figures showed on Friday. The data reflects the deepening of India’s severest recession since at least 1996, when the country first began publishing its gross domestic product numbers.

  The new figures firmly ensconced India’s position among the world’s worst-performing major economies, despite expansive government spending designed to rescue the thousands of small businesses severely battered by its long, hastily imposed lockdown.

  Nikhil Das, a 62-year-old manufacturer of silk ties and scarves in New Delhi, says his business is teetering on the edge of collapse. His sales, which depend on demand from luxury shops and airport retailers, have fallen by four-fifths. He needs payments from customers to make up for his manufacturing costs, but retailers who can’t move his wares still owe him more than $50,000.

  He has idled six workers he once paid for each tie and scarf they made, and he has been treated for stomach pain that his doctor has attributed to stress.

  “The money supply chain is broken,” Mr. Das said. “It is a constant source of tension to me.”

  The Indian government has committed $50 billion, roughly 2 percent of India’s annual economic output, to help small businesses, as well as cash transfers to low-income workers as part of a $266 billion economic package.

  For the average Indian worker and entrepreneur, it hasn’t been enough.

  An estimated 140 million people lost their jobs after India locked down its economy in March to stop the outbreak, while many others saw their salaries drastically reduced, the Mumbai-based Center for Monitoring Indian Economy said. As the lockdown was eased, many went back to work, but more than six million people who lost jobs haven’t found new employment.

  In a June survey by the All India Manufacturers Organization, about one-third of small and medium-sized enterprises indicated that their businesses were beyond saving . The industry group said that such a “mass destruction of business” was unprecedented.

  Businesses like Mr. Das’s form the backbone of India’s still-developing economy. Small and medium-size enterprises employ about four-fifths of the labor force.

  India’s textile factories, leather tanneries, brick kilns, foundries and other small enterprises form “part of the country’s social fabric, bringing local wealth and local employment,” said Venkatachalam Anbumozhi, an economist who focuses on South and East Asia.

  Just a few years ago, India, with a population of 1.3 billion people, was one of the world’s fastest-growing large economies. It regularly clocked growth of 8 percent or more.

  Global businesses began to warm to the idea of India as a potential substitute to China, both as a place to make goods and to sell them. China’s costs are rising, and its trade war with the United States has complicated doing business there. The Chinese Communist Party is increasingly intruding into business matters, and local Chinese competitors have upped their game against international brands.

  But India’s economy was facing headwinds well before the pandemic. Between April and December 2019, G.D.P. grew only 4.6 percent.

  “India was expected to really step into China’s shoes and give that additional boost to globalization that was missing,” said Priyanka Kishore, head of South Asia at Oxford Economics. “And that’s where India didn’t really play out the role it was largely expected to play, and that role seems to be diminishing more and more.”

  Since coming to power in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shaken the economy with policies meant to boost government revenues and help India’s transition to digital banking. Some of the efforts have been embraced by business, such as Mr. Modi’s pledges to slash the country’s vast and tangled web of red tape.

  But other Modi initiatives meant to bring India’s informal, off-the-books economy into the open proved disruptive for many small businesses, which don’t have the resources that big companies can deploy to overhaul how they make payments and keep their books.

  One of Mr. Modi’s policies, called demonetization, banned large currency notes overnight in an effort to crack down on tax avoidance and money laundering. Under another, India replaced its welter of national and state taxes with a single value-added tax, in part to cut down on corruption among tax collectors.

  Mr. Modi also increasingly turned India’s industrial policy inward, which many economists say has hurt overall growth. The country has long nurtured some of the steepest trade barriers of any major economy, to help its domestic industries develop. Mr. Modi added to that in areas like electronics. His government has also tightened rules around e-commerce, to assist Indian businesses that compete with companies like Amazon and Wal-Mart.

  “The slowdown,” said Ms. Kishore, “is almost homegrown.”

  That stumbling economy was dealt a sharp shock by the coronavirus.

  The near-total nationwide lockdown in March brought the economy to a halt, instantly stripping many Indians who rely on daily wages of any prospect of earning money. Millions of workers who over the years had been drawn to India’s urban centers for jobs started returning home to rural areas.

  The economic problems are by no means over. Officials desperate to stimulate business lifted some of the lockdown restrictions, allowing more movement — and further spreading the coronavirus. The country is recording a sharp decline in infections from a September high, but experts fear it is only a lull .

  Even after the pandemic wanes, Ms. Kishore projects, India will be the worst-affected among the world’s major economies. Debt-laden companies will have to borrow even more. Growth could fall to 4.5 percent annually over the next five years, well below the 6.5 percent growth that had been projected before Covid-19.

  “The worst,” said Dr. Anbumozhi, the economist, citing the potential impact to small business in particular, “is yet to come for India.”

  Hari Kumar contributed reporting.

  Emily Schmall is a South Asia correspondent based in New Delhi. More about Emily Schmall

  
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  'No one's feeling good': Visual effects industry hit by global challenges as Lucasfilm ends Singapore operations

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  Earlier this month, Lucasfilm said it will shut down its visual effects and animation studio in Singapore. CNA looks at how disruptions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and Hollywood strikes could have led to this.

  

  Lucasfilm's Singapore facility, The Sandcrawler. (Photo: Lucasfilm website)

  

  Louisa Tang

  

  SINGAPORE: Lucasfilm’s Singapore studio is the latest casualty of numerous challenges that have plagued the visual effects (VFX) industry for years – made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic and strikes that have indefinitely shut down film and television production around the world, local industry veterans told CNA.

  Lucasfilm’s parent company Disney announced earlier this month that it will shut down its VFX and animation studio , Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), in Singapore after nearly 20 years of operations in the country.

  Disney cited economic factors affecting the industry. ILM employs more than 300 people in Singapore.

  One employee, who moved to Singapore to work at ILM more than a year ago, said that “no one really foresaw” the closure despite the recent problems globally.

  “It was quite an abrupt shock. No one’s feeling good. There are families affected, people getting BTOs (Build-To-Order flats). We’re in talks for upcoming plans,” he added. His last day with the Singapore studio will be towards the end of the year.

  He did not wish to be identified and was the only one among almost two dozen employees approached by CNA who agreed to speak. The others told CNA to contact Lucasfilm’s publicity department instead.

  

  Lucasfilm to shut Singapore operations, affecting more than 300 employees

  He said work has significantly slowed down in recent months due to the ongoing  Screen Actors Guild strike in the United States  calling for higher pay and limits on the use of artificial intelligence.

  The strike began in mid-July, on top of a film and television writers’ strike that began in May.

  “But the industry has always been unstable, and there is a gold rush to countries willing to give the best tax benefits and cheaper rates,” the employee added, citing the closure of special effects company Double Negative’s Singapore production facility in 2016 after seven years.

  Several months earlier, Double Negative announced it would open a new studio in Mumbai, India.

  According to the employee, the news of the closure of ILM's Singapore studio was broken to them by management during a meeting at 2pm on Aug 15. Lucasfilm publicly released information about the closure an hour later.

  Staff were told that work will continue until the end of the year, while more meetings will be held in the coming weeks about severance packages and next steps, the employee said.

  Disney has said it is offering opportunities for employees to relocate to one of the company’s growing studios. Lucasfilm and the relevant government agencies are also helping affected employees to find roles in other companies.

  Aside from Singapore and its headquarters in San Francisco, ILM also has studios in Vancouver, London, Sydney and Mumbai.

  History of ILM Singapore

  In 2013, Lucasfilm moved into the state-of-the-art Sandcrawler building, named after the classic Star Wars transport that inspired its design.

  Located in Fusionopolis at one-north, the nine-storey building houses a 100-seat theatre and production facilities that cater to the company's global production needs.

  The building, which also houses Disney’s offices for Southeast Asia, was sold to the Blackstone Group in January 2021. 

  Through ILM Singapore, Singaporeans have worked on Hollywood blockbusters such as Jurassic World: Dominion and Marvel’s The Eternals. 

  In February 2022, Lucasfilm announced that it would open its first international ILMxLAB studio in Singapore , expanding its operations beyond its San Francisco headquarters. This studio was also based in the Sandcrawler building.

  ILMxLAB is Lucasfilm's immersive entertainment studio that was founded in 2015. It focuses on virtual and mixed reality experiences.

  At the time, Mr Philbert Gomez, vice-president and head of digital industry Singapore at the Economic Development Board, said the new studio would provide opportunities for Singaporeans to work on exciting immersive media projects and build skills in 3D modelling, artificial intelligence and real-time rendering.

  COMPETITIVE, LABOUR-INTENSIVE INDUSTRY

  Mr Sen Lai, chief executive officer and principal of 3dsense Media School, described the film VFX industry as a “competitive one”.

  “VFX studios that work on high-profile films are usually faced with high costs associated with creating the complex visual effects required for blockbuster films,” he said. “The recent inflationary environment may have contributed to more challenges.”

  The industry is labour-intensive and requires teams with specialised skill sets, said Mr Lynus Hee, manager and course chair at Singapore Polytechnic's School of Media, Arts & Design.

  Meanwhile, the strikes have not helped since many projects have stalled for an unforeseen period of time, Mr Lai noted.

  The Screen Actors Guild strike, which began in mid-July and has shut down major projects like Deadpool 3, marked the first time that American actors began a labour dispute in the US since 1980.

  It is also the first time that actors and writers have simultaneously walked out since 1960, with the Writers Guild of America having been on strike since May 2.

  “Just like the tech giants laying off headcount in 2023, this is part of industry and market forces at work, adjusting to find equilibrium,” Mr Lai said.

  IGN reported last month that many VFX studios around the world have been laying off artists due to a lack of production work stemming from the strikes. VFX artists in the US are also not protected by a union, unlike writers and actors.

  Mr Matthew Foo, programme leader of Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts’ Diploma in Screen Media course, said COVID-19 accelerated the changes to how traditional media production operates and how end-users consume content.

  “With streaming services and social media, users have the ability to control the content they receive and the way they consume it,” he added.

  “Content is no longer limited to traditional local offerings, or even internationally, but also direct from the social media content creators to the end users.”

  Earlier this year, Disney announced it would cut 7,000 jobs as part of efforts to save US$5.5 billion in costs and make its streaming business profitable.

  American magazine GQ reported that while the boom in streaming services and VFX-heavy blockbusters have led to more demand for VFX workers, it has also resulted in studios not having enough time or resources to complete their work to a high standard before a film’s release.

  Several VFX studios have filed for bankruptcy in recent years in an industry marred by brutal deadlines, slashed budgets, mass layoffs, and industry-wide burnout, reported online magazine Inverse last year.

  Mr Foo also highlighted emerging technologies like virtual reality and artificial intelligence that have reshaped how content is created and consumed.

  Labour economist Walter Theseira from the Singapore University of Social Sciences noted that the significant growth of generative AI technologies has raised questions about what the future of VFX or animation will be in terms of employment and skills needs.

  While these were unlikely to have caused the studio’s closure, it “adds more questions to any studio considering investments in the area”, said Dr Theseira.

  

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  What are vfx artists' job prospects like now.

  Due to the global nature of the VFX industry, those who can travel or relocate will likely find new jobs in studios abroad because there will always be feature films to work on. Remote work arrangements have also “taken off very well” with many studios, said Mr Lai.

  VFX professionals can apply their skills in other industries like advertising, motion design and games as well, he added.

  Nevertheless, the experts cautioned that those in artistic or creative industries like VFX must constantly learn and upgrade themselves.

  Those trained in VFX should be "agile and learn new skills”, which will significantly enhance their employability and job prospects, Mr Foo said.

  "The demand for niche skills largely depends on the state of the industry, technological advancements, and the overall economic situation with these specialised skills to be transferable within the industry," he pointed out.

  "To best navigate such challenges, it is important for professionals, including our students who are entering the workforce, to cultivate a collaborative mindset and openness to work across disciplines."

  Jobseekers should keep working on their portfolios, take a proactive approach to networking and maintain visibility by taking part in competitions or events, or being active on social media, Mr Lai said.

  “Changes to the landscape can also breed opportunities. Some of the more entrepreneurial and enterprising may even contemplate starting up a new service or business concept,” he added.

  As for how these changes could affect educational institutes or institutions of higher learning in Singapore that offer VFX courses, Mr Foo said it is equally important for them to prepare students for future industry shifts.

  Over at Singapore Polytechnic, VFX was removed as an option of study in 2020 when the school's Diploma in Media, Arts & Design course curriculum was revamped.

  The redesign, which was done in consultation with leaders from the creative industry, was "in line with our direction to move upstream in the value chain of the creative industry", said Mr Hee. 

  He added that the new curriculum now enables students "to be  employed and work effectively at various job roles in the media, arts and design-related disciplines".

  On the other hand, Mr Lai from 3dsense said they constantly refine their curriculum to ensure that VFX remains relevant as a skill set, in tandem with ever-changing needs and trends.

  "This latest development doesn’t change our belief that strong talent will still be able to find good employment in the industry, be it in Singapore or overseas," he added.

  

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