Launched in 2014, StoryBites is a weekly feature from YS, featuring notable quotable quotes in our articles of this past week. This special series of compilations focuses on India’s COVID-19 struggle (see last week’s post here). Share these quotes and excerpts with your networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights.
Tracking and controlling rapid community spread of the virus remains a key challenge. – Srini Nagarajan, CDC Group
In a post-pandemic world, healthcare designers need to set forth innovative solutions that seamlessly blend altruism with technology to create a robust ecosystem. – Ravideep Singh, Creative Designer Architects
People need to respect doctors and have an attitude for gratitude. When we are doing our COVID-19 rounds, we can’t go near our families, we need to stay separate from our children. – Dr Shalini Joshi, Fortis Hospital
No doctor will want their patients to suffer in any way, but please realise that doctors are not gods. We are trying our best to help patients. People need to trust their doctors. – Dr Tejas Thakker, Apollo Hospitals
Today, when the country is fighting such a big war against Corona, doctors have saved millions of lives by working hard day and night. – Prime Minister Narendra Modi
We must leverage data left behind by the storm of the second wave to save lives in the third. That is the brightest way forward. – Manas Agrawal, Affine
Everyone wants to manage health. For that, you want information, test, diagnosis, consultation, and treatment, and it all needs to be in one place. Technology is the way to bring it all together. – Siddharth Shah, PharmEasy
Blue collar workers, gig workers, migrant workers, and the destitute and slum dwellers who barely had any money to afford a square meal were most impacted. – Suyash Jain, COVID-19 Free Jobs Forum
India’s MSMEs are working hard to prioritise the wellbeing of those they care about while also navigating the unprecedented business impacts of COVID-19. – Nidhi Munjal, Walmart
The recovery that had commenced in the second half of 2020-21 was dented in April-May 2021, but with the wave of infections abating as rapidly as it had set in, economic activity has started to look up in late May and early June. – RBI governor Shaktikanta Das
The pandemic has widened the social gap, especially with everything going digital. Unfortunately, many students of government schools do not have access to a smartphone or tablet, and this puts them at a serious disadvantage. – Students of Pallikoodam School
The COVID-19 crisis has made e-learning a necessity and has highlighted the important role technology plays in the education sector. – Naman Mukund, Tekie
COVID-19 has completely changed the game. Moving your college or school online is no longer a ‘should we’, it’s basic hygiene. You’re not planning for the future if you’re not online. – Aarati Ghana Shyam, LetzConnect Technologies
Globally, during the current pandemic, home décor has been the fastest-growing category online, as homes have become the centre of attraction much beyond just living. – Neeraj Tyagi, We Founder Circle
The pandemic has catalysed the already existing demand for affordable private mobility in India. – Sasidhar Nandigam, CredR
Hospitality has predominantly been a high contact industry. But post the pandemic, organisations are adapting technology to minimise human contact to the lowest possible levels. – Arindam Basu, Deltin
As wedding celebrations are now limited to gatherings under 50 people, the entire format is undergoing a change to inculcate “wedding streaming” to enable guests to attend virtually. – Ritin Kumar, CineLove Productions
The need for hygiene, digital convenience, and customer service [in online groceries] has never been greater, especially with quality inequity and disparities in service levels across traditional channels. – Atul Kumar, FRAAZO
Track pants and tees became a very necessary part of daily life, and those are the products which saw a significant increase in sales. – Afsar Zaidi, HRX
A deeper connection between pet parents and pets was also noticed as people had more time to give. – Rashi Narang, Heads Up For Tails
The pandemic and repeated natural calamities have drawn people’s attention towards the importance of insurance. – Kamesh Goyal, Digit Insurance
The residential real estate market is booming here (in Goa). The trend of people moving away from metropolitans is not only becoming stronger in India but also in Germany. – Coco Leni, Arjun Sagar
The industrial sector loses millions globally in revenue due to unplanned shutdowns, a result of lack of intelligent real-time data and insights to aid decision making. – Barath Shankar Subramanian, Accel
While the pandemic posed serious challenges globally, it has also acted as a catalyst for technology-based automation and digitisation efforts around the globe. – Venkat Vallabhaneni and Jatin Desai, Inflexor Ventures
The pandemic in India, despite having a devastating impact, has already seen the startup ecosystem come together and provide novel/innovative solutions to combat the crisis, pivot their businesses, and accelerate their growth journeys. – Sajan Pillai, Season Two Ventures
Startups that have survived and thrived during this black swan event will be far more agile and innovative, and consequently, make for very attractive investment opportunities. – Pankaj Gupta, GII
The ease of starting and running a business from anywhere, and changing perceptions of women’s responsibilities, have made it an opportune moment for women who want to step into the business world. – Zahara Kanchwalla, Rite KnowledgeLabs
YS has also published the pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups’ as a creative and motivational guide for innovators (downloadable as apps here: Apple, Android).
