The pandemic has sped up the shift from global to more local economies—a trend already underway thanks to international trade tensions and other factors. As part of this transformation, industries are looking to bring supply chains closer to home and are creating major “reshoring” opportunities. That means manufacturers and the industries they serve are building new factories or reviving old ones that went dormant during years of expanding globalization. These new factories are likely to be smaller and more automated, with technology that enables them to change product lines more quickly as demand shifts. This, in turn, means opportunities for other manufacturers—those that make automation components, as well as “integrators” who put together automated systems. And with new demand for personal technology products and remote connectivity, manufacturers that serve the sector with components for technology hardware, data-centers and cellular connectivity have benefited from increased investment.

Brief Description: Technology is vital to startups, levelling the playing field and making more things than ever before accessible to new businesses. However, technology can also feel daunting, especially if you're launching a startup - it's tempting to stick to the tools and techniques you know. Innovation is often thought of as embracing the latest, coolest, most disruptive technologies. Almost by definition, hungry new startups – particularly in the tech space – are businesses that are making use of technology in some way, shape or form. In popular perception, startups are typically synonymous with innovation. Getting the balance right between familiar technology and wanting to labelled as innovative is a big challenge for any startup.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken manufacturing industries profoundly. As has been the case after other major upheavals, such as the 2008-2009 financial crisis, a return to pre-crisis levels will likely take several years, if not more. Back in 2008, it took manufacturing industries three years to return to the pre-crisis level. This time the course of the crisis will be at least as severe as it was during the financial crisis, if not even worse. The current crisis differs in character from the previous ones, both for the better and for the worse. For the better: Production levels before COVID-19 had already cooled down and companies have not geared themselves as much to strong growth as before the financial crisis. Additionally, companies have more cash and equity available, the crisis experience is higher. For the worse: The simultaneous supply and demand shock with shutdowns has led to extremely deep slumps and an “up and down” recovery is more likely than a steady curve.

The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed a tremendous cost on people’s lives and livelihoods, forcing the businesses to adjust rapidly to survive. In the wake of the current scenario, it is the HR department that is entitled to manage the radical shifts facing workforces during the pandemic. The COVID-19 crisis has amplified the difficulties faced by the heads of the institutions towards recognizing the truly distinctive (to motivate and retain them) and the truly lagging (to boost morale and organizational performance).

India is one of the fastest growing economies of the world which has shown a steady acceleration in the last half-ecade. The driving force behind this development is the robust socio-economic policies by the government, an influx in the domestic and foreign capital and a rise in disposable income and consumption among many other positive attributes. When pitching about development, one major factor that has served to be India’s backbone is Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sector. The growth of these SMEs is a continuous process should be considered only when it will benefit the business in some way. However, to reap maximum benefits out of the same, one requires meticulous planning.