The pandemic has wrought unprecedented changes in society. We are in the midst of the greatest change ever in the last 25 to 30 years. During the pandemic, 50 to 60 per cent of the population went online for education, banking, goods and services, entertainment, and medical advice. The key thing is, how will things settle down? What percentage of work, for example, will be from home? I think, ultimately, there will be a hybrid model.
There will be greater globalisation because people from different parts of the world will be able to work together; technology allows that. Cheaper and better jobs will shift from developed to developing countries. There will be new business models. Increased outsourcing will mean that several businesses will shrink, with more contract employment companies coming up. With digital signatures and email documentation becoming prevalent, no one will go to banks anymore. Electric vehicles and autonomous cars will become more popular. Holiday homes will come up.
When it comes to education, the pandemic changed the way it is delivered globally. In many places, during the lockdown, people shifted to online education using technology which they had probably never used before. Many children were forced to buy gadgets. The educated and lower-middle classes were able to make the shift because they had a smartphone or laptop, or tablet. The poor were left out because they did not have access to the gadgets or the internet.
Denne historien er fra September 19, 2021-utgaven av THE WEEK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra September 19, 2021-utgaven av THE WEEK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.