10 Ways COVID 19 has changed our lives for ever.

 

Without a doubt Corona is the worst thing that has happened to all of us in our life time. It has impacted our lives in so many ways that we have not even realized till yet.

It has been a long time since we have had this much time on our hands. We have had a lot of time to introspect, think about the things that actually matter.

Let’s look at some ways it has changed our lives for ever.

1. Imports and exports – This virus came from China and nobody cares if China did it on purpose or it was an accidental outbreak. All people can see is that China is not that badly affected and that china is trying to take advantages of financial vulnerability of other nations. Nations like India, Spain, Germany and Australia have taken action against FDI from China. Of course, China is not going to sit this one out quietly. It will also retaliate in its own way; I see taxes hike in near future from China on the products upon which all the nations are heavily dependent on. India alone imports more than $50 billion worth of goods from China. Electronics, Machine engines and pumps, Organic chemicals, Fertilizers, Iron and steel all of these are going to be expensive. How will it impact our economy is another thing altogether.

2. General hatred towards Chinese products- We can see a mass boycott of the Chinese products in upcoming months, which I believe, in long term is a very welcome step, provided government ensures that we setup industries here in India to compensate the needs of economy. People will prefer supporting the industries that have not originated in China. Sudden rise and fall of Zoom app and Ticktok app are the latest examples of this.

3. New opportunities in the production-based industries- Ever since the governments take on FDI from china, it has become really clear that we can expect government support on all the industries that will reduce our dependency on china. Short-sightedness and quick money making steps of businessmen and politicians all over the world has increased our dependency on countries like china. These are the places where there is so little a concern regarding value of life and labour is so cheap. World has paid a heavy price for the greed of few people. Why did no one question closed behaviour of Chinese society? How could we trust a country that imposes restriction on its own countrymen, never allowing them freedom to connect to rest of the world? Why did no one question how can Chinese manufacture things in such a cheap manner?

4. Change in spending habits of the people- When people stayed in their home for more than a month, they realised their priorities for the first time in their life. They begin to realize their worst nightmares, what will happen when suddenly we will be kicked out of our jobs? Do we have any other skill then the one we were being paid for? Do we have any saving to sustain ourselves for 6 months without earning anything? What is necessity and what is not? It is for certain that we will now from onwards question our expenditures. Maslow would have had loved to see his need hierarchy theory being tested on such a large scale.

5. Government may need to re think its strategies for economic growth- India like many other countries was not prepared for a pandemic like this, we were moving head on towards the growth. Looking for shortcuts to boost our economy. Government also pushed us to spend more, which would have resulted in collection of higher tax collection but now, we may have to rethink our strategies. A good economy is the one which is not dependent on one factor but have diversified its risk portfolio just like your fund manager. We as a country have been able to fight the 2007-09 slump only because our infrastructure was strong. We have to rethink our dependency on other nations in terms of energy and resources. If we are able to achieve that we will not only be able to generate more jobs but also will ensure economic growth. I can foresee a time when the govt will be introducing the nationalized bonds ensuring better returns in long run.

6. Hit on travel industry- We are a country of rich culture. No doubt we attract a lot of travellers from all around the world. Other nations don’t have such a rich history. But sadly, this industry of ours is going to be worst hit. Hotel industry is already working on 60% of its regular staff. Government is worried that if we open ourselves to tourism, we are again going to see increase in corona cases, and its quite right in assuming so. It is again a lesson for states to develop more than one source of revenue generation.

7. Change in buying behaviour of customer- Customers are going to be more concerned about themselves. Crowded shops will be worst hit. People are going to avoid placed which has more chances of virus contamination. Surely with time we will develop the corona vaccine but even then, making sure that it has reached to the farthest corner of our great country and each and every single person, is still a farfetched dream. And all this will result in all the aware customers diverting towards a safe place where chances of contamination are least.

8. Responsibility of the sellers and cost of business- Very soon we can see government impositions for business centres to declare their own responsibility if corona outbreak happens because of them. This is going to increase the cost of business. Apart from basic hygiene, the businessmen will from now onwards will have to take care of contamination and its not easy to do when you have a business where all sorts of people come day in and day out.

9. Eating habits- This tough period has made sure that all of us know the basic survival skills. We learned how to cook. How to manage in the minimum of the supplies. As we are trying to get rid of this virus from all of our lives, the virus is also mutating, it has been reported that virus has developed multiple strains and even the people who have been cured from Covid-19 have fallen sick again. How can we trust any one else other than our closed ones to handle our food for us? It is for sure that people are going to avoid eating outsides for some time. Probably for a year or so, food industry has very tough times ahead.

10.Travelling habits and immunity- What happens when you use hand sanitizer all the time, and confine your self to all sorts of infections and diseases? For sure we will be safe but take a moment to think, what are we doing to our immunity? I agree that corona requires the cautious approach, and we should in fact maintain social distancing but it will have huge impact on our basic habits. May be from now onwards we will carry hand sanitizers along with us always, always using it and not developing basic immunity,  Is it good?

There was so much travel going on everywhere, we have realized that maybe we don’t need to travel that much to get things done. Surely we can predict a lot less travel in the near future.