Category: Reimagining the post-COVID world

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Photo by Bannon Morrissy on Unsplash

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]As we’ve all learned much too intimately, there are few things that have the power to impact global ecosystems as profoundly as a pandemic. In a matter of months, the coronavirus touched nearly every country and person in the world, upending life as we know it and paving the way for long-term changes we can only begin to predict.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Ultimately, the effects of the coronavirus have transcended industry, country and our way of life. Our global communities have been dealing with its fallout for nearly a year, including increased stress on health care systems, schools and workplaces, to a profound shift in the purchase and consumption of goods and services. In my role at FedEx, I’ve witnessed first-hand how interconnected our world is. And just like the rest of society, the pandemic has challenged me and our company in brand new ways.

(more…)

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Artwork by Rajat Patle

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] ‘One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?” The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.” “Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!” After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf.

Then, smiling at the man, he said…“I made a difference for that one.”’

– Loren Eisley

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The year 2020 was like no other. It made the entire world pause. It united us in our collective fears, insecurities, and anxieties. It tested our resilience, empathy, generosity, and humaneness, and exposed the best and the worst in humankind.

(more…)

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Photo by rupixen.com on Unsplash

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the authors.

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Imagine that you’re living in rural India, and there is a lockdown because of COVID. You realize you need cash. Yes, banks are open but there are no bank branches close by, the nearest ATM is more than 40 km away. Travelling large distances becomes extremely risky because of the lockdown. How do you cope? How do you withdraw money? Well, there is a simple solution. You go to your nearest kirana shop, or to a ‘banking correspondent’, give the shopkeeper or the ‘agent’ your Aadhar number and the name of your bank, put your finger onto a fingerprint reader, and lo and behold, your account is debited, and the bank correspondent gives you cash.

(more…)

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Photo by Bill Oxford on Unsplash

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]COVID 19 has shaken up the world and made our lives topsy-turvy. It has rudely shaken most of our norms and assumptions. While earlier we considered it desirable to meet and congregate together, this crisis requires that we maintain a distance from other human beings. Showing cordiality and warmth by shaking hands or hugging is strictly avoided. One simple example: In 2019 no bank would have allowed entry to someone wearing a mask, while now no bank will permit entry to anyone not wearing a mask. Our lives and livelihoods have been affected very seriously and left us gasping to cope. However, there are some areas where it is giving us some great lessons. One of these lessons is that for many activities and office work we need not gather and can work efficiently without being together. This lesson has been learned by many offices and the available technology is being used to ensure this. The know-how and technology were available but were not utilised effectively.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Whereas earlier the concept of working from home had been accepted in some businesses it had been largely deemed necessary to have physical meetings and to work together in an office. People would travel halfway round the globe for a one-hour presentation. For conferences and meetings often the time for travelling was far higher than the actual time spent in the meeting. Most of the expenses were on travelling and hotels. Even for meetings within the same city two hours of travel would be undertaken for a 15 minute meeting. During this Corona crisis people are enthusiastically using the various e-platforms to communicate and hold meetings.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]When the first lockdown was announced it came as a huge disruptive shock. Most offices and activities were brought to a sudden halt. Soon private enterprise began to use internet and e-platforms to do their work from home.  The Supreme Court also started hearings using the internet and e-platforms in a selective way. Considerable work on this had been done by the e-committee headed by Justice DY Chandrachud. However, this was restricted to urgent hearings in High Courts and Supreme Court. Most subordinate courts did not adopt virtual hearings and hence the backlog has been mounting. Earlier, the pendency of all the courts is the country was growing annually at a rate of less than 3%. In the beginning of 2020 the pending cases were 34.6 million cases whereas by the end of the year this has gone up to 42.1 million, an increase of nearly 22%! We do not know how long the pandemic will threaten us, and the Indian judicial system will be completely broken at this rate.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It has been well established that judicial and quasi-judicial hearings over the internet are feasible and work reasonably well. There are a few glitches that could be resolved as the system evolves further. Virtual hearings in courts would result in lower costs for litigants and ease of operations for most lawyers.  Instead of wasting hours in crowded courtrooms, lawyers and litigants can continue their work in their houses or offices and spend just the time required for the hearing. Lawyers from small towns could appear even before the Supreme Court without incurring the unnecessary cost and time of travelling to Delhi. This could result in a major relief to crowded courtrooms and transport. Some legal professionals claim that they find it difficult to participate in e-hearings. This is something that can be resolved with two to four hours of training. Even without any training watchmen, drivers, hawkers and school children are using video chats and Whatsapp.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]There may be some types of cases where physical hearings are required. These are unlikely to be more than 20% of the total cases. However, there is a resistance to change. According to Justice RC Chavan, the Vice-chairman of the Supreme Court-appointed e-committee, all the requirements for virtual operations are in place and this would become a big boon for everyone. Without visiting courts, the advocates can be registered on the portal, all filings can also be done by internet, affidavits can be affirmed electronically and all fees and payments can be done electronically. Litigants and lawyers need not visit the courts at all.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our current experience and the prospect of slowing down our already slow disposals of judicial and quasi-judicial matters should make us adopt virtual hearings in all judicial and quasi-judicial matters. There is no real impediment except in the mind.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]There is a fair possibility that the social distancing norms may have to be continued during  2021. Many courts are going back to physical hearings on an ‘experimental basis’. It must be understood that this is an experiment with human health and lives. The e-committee has developed the complete requirements for the virtual operation of all the courts. I am describing the way it could relate to courts, but the same logic would apply to other work including schools and colleges. The same workspaces could be used for nearly double the work.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It is not being suggested that there would be no physical meetings. But it is certainly possible that these could be reduced to about 30 percent of the earlier times. For socializing it would continue as before.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The spaces required for many offices could be reduced by at least half, by getting less than 50% of the staff to be present on any given day.  Incidentally, Video Conferencing of hearings in RTI matters has been the norm for the Central Information Commission for over a decade. My own experience is that once people get used to the idea, the time taken for hearings is no more than in the usual hearings. Unless the courts and other quasi-judicial bodies start their work immediately by virtual hearings the burden of pending cases will become unbearable. There is a demand in courts to soon revert to physical hearings. It is not an exaggeration to say that given the present scenario, social distancing may be required until the middle of 2021. If we use technology, we can make this into an opportunity to use time and resources more gainfully.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The benefits can be immense. Everyone must consider making this the new normal and reduce travel time and expense. A significant reduction in the people travelling will also lead to lesser pollution and carbon footprint. I would seriously urge that we try and convert this crisis to redesign the way we work. We could then convert this crisis into an opportunity of lasting value. This is the time to challenge our earlier concepts and get a positive outcome in the way urban centres work and function. This could lead to a better quality of life with less travel induced stress and an actual reduction of traffic and consequent pollution. We should make this our new normal at least in our Urban Areas.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]If we treat this pandemic as an excuse to work less we will have wasted the lessons from it. It is imperative for different organizations to figure out how to begin treating this crisis to work out how they could permanently change their work methods so that people could work from home. There may be some people whose homes may be so small that they cannot work from home.  Workspaces could be set up in a distributed manner to facilitate such people and these could work like cyber cafes. Instead of waiting for the virus to go, we should seize this opportunity to change our work styles in urban areas. If this becomes our new normal, we will have drawn the right lessons to benefit everyone.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Photo by Murray Campbell on Unsplash

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]When I wondered what I could predict about the Indian economy in 2021 that IITians don’t know or have not at least, already read about, I thought it might be worthwhile to reconnect with Cyrus the Virus, named after the famous Persian Emperor, who had helped me call out the pandemic, in my last year’s annual note, Tipping Point. He had told me in advance about the dire straits that we would find ourselves in 2020. It is another matter that governments in most countries delayed their response, sometimes, to as late as in end March. We kept in touch regularly ever since. Here is what he told me, even as I was still nursing my first peg, on the new-year’s eve:[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]“You humans have made commendable strides in trying to understand me since we first spoke last year, but there is very much more that you don’t know. It will take you more than a lifetime to understand most of the virus families, but in less than half a decade, you could understand enough to deal Coronaviruses, the family to which I belong. Our fight is not over. We are mutating so rapidly, thus what might have worked eight months ago, will not work as effective anymore.” (more…)

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Artwork by Rajat Patle

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We draw borders
And erect fences
And say
That is yours
This is mine
Don’t cross
Or else

(more…)

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Photo by Evgeni Tcherkasski on Unsplash

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The end of March brought some smiles to our students when they were unexpectedly sent home for a few weeks till the threat of corona would pass away. Some hostel corridors rang with the cry “corona ki jai” as students were thrilled about the unexpected holidays: meeting parents and ghar ka khana for a few unexpected weeks. Students left hastily without vacating their rooms. The clothes were forlorn left hanging outside because it was only for a short while. Little did anybody guess the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic would last for nine months and maybe longer. The long-drawn lockdown has precipitated many stresses among all of us, the year 2020 has seen students and alumni grieve for family members, worry over loss of income and the fear of the unknown has created its own sense of anxieties and stresses. As a counsellor, I have read with dismay the student messages in my inbox about the sense of isolation from friends, the loss of opportunity as job offers and internships were rescinded or postponed indefinitely. Unfortunately, home for some students is not a safe haven that we imagine it to be. Thus long months of being at home exposed them anew to domestic violence, alcoholism etc. I invite you to imagine a bird trying to fly with a box full of junk tied to its feet. Heavier the box, shorter the flight. To me, the year 2020 has been like that with corona being tied to our feet and created a reality that nobody knew how to navigate efficiently.  The world over we got a challenge to engineer different versions of our own selves and the world we live in?

(more…)