Covid-19: Through the lens of industry leaders

KOLKATA: Survive, revive and thrive, that was the theme at a webinar organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where business leaders highlighted the challenges they are facing in the time of Covid-19, but also emphasised on the opportunities that crisis like these present.

ITC executive vice president for corporate communications, Nazeeb Arif, who moderated the webinar, #RESETINDIA2020, said the pandemic had led to collaboration and compassion. There has been collaboration across industries in case of sanitisation and delivery and compassion to support one another tide this crisis, he said.

Jayen Mehta, the senior general manager for planning & marketing at Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul), the pandemic had disrupted the supply chain from cow to consumer. In situations like these, communication with all stakeholders is the key — be it with the government, farmers or employees, he said, adding that it should be done at all levels to take timely and speedy actions.


Berger Paints India managing director Abhijit Roy said the company is working on a mobile app where each of its 20,000 paint workforce’s details could be viewed by consumers. All painters would be provided with safety kits and they would use germ-killing paints with a focus on the customer's safety. The company has plans to sell also sanitisers, he added.

Rohit Ohri, the chairman of India & South Asia at FCB Ulka, said some behaviour would stay with even after the end of the crisis, but some would vanish. “Much of the consumer behaviour is driven by current fear of the virus,” he added.

Brands would pivot around immunity, healthcare and wellness and there would be an increase in automation and more machine interaction, with less human contact, he added.

BB Chatterjee, the president of the Bengal Chamber, said: “Once the lockdown is over, individually we all would start refurbishing, replacing, changing old with new.”

“Those who fight the crisis will emerge victorious … I think people should realise that corporate India is definitely ready and looking into the correct direction for a good tomorrow,” said Anoop Hoon, the chairperson of the marketing & brand committee of the Bengal Chamber.