At any rate, the widening coronavirus crisis can be characterised as a black swan—an unforeseen event with drastic consequences. True to its nature, it has sent markets reeling, stalled economies and brought life to a halt. India’s startup community, however, is showing no signs of abating.
A Gurugram-based startup’s offering, for example—artificial intelligence-driven monitoring of CCTVs in prisons—appears seemingly unconnected to the crisis. Yet the co-founders found purpose amidst the pandemic. They modified their solution to work on a mobile phone, instead of a CCTV camera; taught the software to recognise a patient coughing instead of a truant prisoner. Hospitals with low medical staff are ideal use cases for this kind of contactless monitoring. Similarly, a robotics startup based out of Kerala, repurposed its androids to serve patients in isolation wards. A mobile app allows nurses to map the sequence of beds for the food-and-medicine-tray-carrying bot to follow. There’s also a Mumbai-based maker of sanitary napkins who could have carried on with business as usual given the essential nature of its wares. But when the co-founders learnt that the raw materials used in menstrual hygiene products and surgical masks are similar, they retooled their machines to make the latter.
A selection of seven companies that is taking the battle against coronavirus head-on:
Asimov Robotics: Bots To The Rescue
Bu hikaye Forbes India dergisinin May 8, 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Forbes India dergisinin May 8, 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Home-Cooked Meal Is Now Greatly Valued
The pandemic has also brought with it an improved focus on hygiene, use of technology in dining, rise of cloud kitchens and resurgence in popularity of Indian ingredients
Paytm 3.0 - Reaching Near Breakeven In Two Years
As of 2020, Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s super app for financial services had run up losses in thousands of crores. Now, as digital payments gets yet another boost courtesy Covid-19, he’s hopeful of reaching near breakeven in two years
THE PANDEMIC HAS CAUSED WOMEN GREATER LABOUR PAIN
Covid-19 has shown that women are more likely to face the brunt of job losses than men, and find fewer opportunities when they want to resume. That apart, several have to deal with increased hours of unpaid work at home and even domestic abuse
LEADERSHIP WILL BE ABOUT SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE
Leaders must not only guard their teams first during a crisis, but also deal with stakeholders with respect and dignity. And apart from pursuing business goals, they should remain committed to our planet and the environment
PHILANTHROPY SHOULD BE HUMBLE, BUT NOT MODEST
Apart from building a flexible and resilient framework for the future, philanthropists, civil society and the government must work in tandem so that every rupee is absorbed on the ground
INTEGRATED HEALTH CARE, TECH WILL DISRUPT SECTOR
While clinical research will get a boost, having a skilled workforce and public spending on health care will be challenges in the near term
DIGITALISATION WILL HELP IN VALUE CREATION
As the pandemic brings technology and innovation to the core of business and daily life, the next decade will see about 150 million digital-first families in India
Industry 4.0: Climate Revolution?
Augmenting sustainability alongside digital capabilities is an economic, competitive and global opportunity for India’s businesses, but regulations need to reflect intent
EV Dream Still Miles Away
Electric vehicles have remained a buzzword in India for years. But not much has moved on ground due to high upfront costs, range anxiety and charging infrastructure
Living Waters
A virus has caused us to scramble for oxygen but our chokehold on the environment is slowly strangling the very waters that breathe life into us. The virus is a timely reminder: We are merely consumers, not producers of life’s breath on this planet
