Blog

Launched in 2014, StoryBites is a weekly feature from YourStory, 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.

The primary defensive wall of our fortress remains our healthcare facilities and their infrastructure. – Parikipandla Narhari, Government of Madhya Pradesh

It is important to look at different stages of the disease progression and look at options that can reduce a patient’s suffering and discomfort. – Sharvil Patel, Cadila Healthcare

The only way to halt the ongoing growth in infection is by vaccinating a maximum of Indians. – Rajat Gupta, TESSOL

We are witnessing a lot of people unassumingly becoming the virus’s carriers, and that explains the much sharper spike in infections. – Vaibhav Tewari, Portea Medical

The community has and will always play a strong role. A pandemic of this magnitude can be combatted only with community efforts. – Gaurav Gupta, BBMP

Where people in Singapore followed every government rule and safety norms to a tee, most people in India were not taking the precautions seriously. – Sushi Krishna, Nyrrvana

There are also many black marketeers who are trying to sell these essentials at 20x-30x price, taking advantage of people’s helplessness. – Ramanuj Mukherjee, Lawyers Against COVIFRAUD

There is an urgent need to de-stigmatise mental health through talking about it and circulating information on media. – Garima Juneja, Lightroom Therapy

Future corporate employee wellness solutions must address mental health as much as they prioritise physical health. – Anjan Pathak, Vantage Circle

The lack of social engagement and a sense of isolation have also accentuated the importance of companies going the extra mile to ensure a more inclusive and stimulating work culture to provide adequate motivation for their employees. – Mitalee Dabral, ShareChat

Music can be therapeutic to address the physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals. – Vishala Khurana, The Sound Space

Several COVID-19 cases are also being treated and handled remotely over calls or WhatsApp. Due to this, it becomes difficult for the doctors to keep a tab on every patient’s data. – Atul Gupta, Inspiria Knowledge Campus

The pandemic has only further accelerated the adoption of technology, making automation integral to facilitating competent and well-organised supply chains. – Saahil Goel, Shiprocket

Not only has technology begun playing a greater role in the way users are engaging with brands in the post-pandemic landscape, but many are also more willing to communicate with brands on digital channels. – Harsha Solanki, Infobip

Cloud kitchens are mushrooming everywhere. In fact, the pandemic has only pushed more competition into the market as food deliveries are the most preferred mode of consuming outside food. – Porus Arora, Enoki Hospitality

While the pandemic brought to the forefront the digital divide as far as K-12 education is concerned, the worst impact is on kids who have lost their parents or an earning member of the family. – Pulkit Jain, Vedantu

As is with any other natural disaster or pandemic, the children are disproportionately affected by the pandemic. It has resulted in an increase in poverty, internal migration, closure of schools, and loss of livelihood for millions. – Shivani Bhaskar, Save The Children India

As we saw during the first wave as well, the larger companies were able to come out of it much faster. We are seeing that MSMEs are facing the brunt of issues now. – Vineet Agarwal, ASSOCHAM

Although India’s second COVID-19 wave has started to recede, the related economic costs have been larger owing to the more stringent lockdowns. – Rahul Bajoria, Barclays

Like MSMEs, India’s $854 billion retail industry was also badly affected last year. Therefore, retailers will benefit from working in tandem with MSMEs. – Akash Anand, DEERIKA

The second wave and related lockdowns and curfews and their impact on the economy have once again brought along very high levels of uncertainty, struggles, and challenges for MSMEs and startups. – LocalCircles survey

The pandemic has made women look at alternative modes of investment due to the spread of information by media and the availability of online education material. – Satvik Vishwanath, Unocoin

Complex problems like pandemics, climate change, and political polarisation call on us to stay mentally flexible. – Adam Grant, ‘Think Again’

This pandemic has shown us the truth of the old cliché that change is the only constant, and so, we as entrepreneurs need to ADAPT to that change. – Vijay Sambamurthi, Lexygen

COVID-19 has allowed us all to look beyond and explore radical ideas which seemed irrelevant at a point in time. – Abhishek Chandrashekar, Royal Brothers

History is replete with examples of adversity and crisis, but human resilience ensures that we grow despite odds stacked against us. – Kayzad Hiramanek, Bajaj Allianz Life

Our human compassion binds us the one to the other – not in pity or patronisingly, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future. – V K Paul, NITI Aayog

To have a dignified life is a basic human right, and so is having a dignified death. – Akshaya, Here I Am Last Rites and Funeral Squad

YourStory 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).