The Observer An IIJNM publication
Dental care took a back seat amid the pandemic, revives as Covid cases come down | P 2
Vol. 21, Issue 9
Thursday, October 28, 2021
Moving online has opened new front for them By Chhavi Vohra
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The pandemic has helped companies wield their potential and adopt a fresh approach towards business I Courtesy: pexels.com tele. We shifted our operations online, made a website for our brand. So it was no longer important for me to be constantly present at the shop. We linked ourselves to e-commerce portals like Amazon and Meesho and our
sales increased. In the end, the pandemic helped us wield our... potential. Moving online opened a new front for us,” he added. Workers are moving back to cities from their villages as work has gained momentum.
Amit Kumar, a worker who manages Canyon Mart’s factory said: “ Trains stopped functioning. I stayed in the city for a few days. But I wanted to go home. I was scared of the growing Covid cases. So I went back on foot. When my boss called me back, I couldn’t because of fear. My family wanted me to stay with them. I received my salary from my boss and did not face any difficulty on that front. Now, work is going well. My boss has given me a room in the factory. I no longer have to travel to work. This saves my time as well as room rent.” Customers are adjusting to the new normal. Some are adapting gradually, while many are already accustomed to the online world. They belive that this was an inevitable change. Abhishek Gupta, a customer at Canyon Mart, shared: “Now I can order stuff online. Pictures of belts and locks are displayed on the website. This makes it easy for me to decide what I want. “ Exporters were badly affected with the government permitting the export of only essential commodities during the pandemic. Continued on page 3
Post-lockdown, people going for cheaper items They are now not purchasing goods in bulk By Ayndrila Banerjee
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s consumers look for ways to cut costs, shop owners say they are noticing a shift in consumer behaviour. Customers are now buying low-priced commodities rather than the more expensive ones. Divya Palleda, a consumer, informed The Observer : “I always think twice before buying goods that are on the expensive side. Before choosing, I think about the worthiness of an item. I am okaycompromising a little on quality as long as it saves money.” Divya wants to wait two or three years before she goes back to her
Customers are drifting away from expensive goods as an after-effect of the pandemic I Courtesy: Divya Palleda old shopping habits, at least until she fully recovers financially. Shoppers, unlike before, are not buying goods in bulk. The concept of monthly shopping has mostly diminished. Mishad K.K., owner
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Irregular waste collection, citizens’ negligence and lack of enforcement create garbage menace | P 3
Businesses start to revive after pandemic dealt a crushing blow usinesses in Karnataka are making a comeback after a complete or partial termination of operations due to lockdowns. They are attempting a fresh start after experiencing low consumer demand, supply fluctuations and lockdown restrictions. Nishit Arora, owner of Canyon Mart, which sells belts and padlocks, informed The Observer : “We had to close our shop. Fewer customers came around. Most of them went online. Labour got scared of the pandemic. They avoided work. Most went back to their villages.I still had to give salaries to my employees to help them cope with the situation. I couldn’t have abandoned them.” “Luckily, we had a warehouse away from the main market which gave us an edge over our competitors. We were able to function and supply to our clien-
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of Royal Mart, a supermarket in Banashankari shared with The Observer : “People are not willing to buy goods in bulk. Most customers set a budget before coming to the shop. Such customers
stick to their budgets and buy commodities enough for 15 days only, not for 30 days.” Customers are more attracted towards items that offer discounts. Owing to this competition, most shops are coming up with cost-effective offers on almost every item. About this, Mishad said: “Now people are looking for offers. Earlier, these customers purchased whatever they wanted, offer or no offer.” Sarvesh Giri, General Manager of the D-Mart supermarket chain, has observed a different trend. “There are some customers who are ‘brand loyal’. Such people don’t easily change their taste.... So in order to cut their cost and at the same time not compromise on the quality, they consume less and therefore buy less. They buy only what they require and do not go on hoarding stuff.” Continued on page 3
News briefs Sensex crashes 1,158 pt, Nifty drops to 17,857 The stock market on Thursday saw heavy fluctuations towards the month-end as the BSE Sensex touched a low of 59,984, down 1,158 points, and the NSE Nifty crashed to 17,857. Markets generally see volatilty towards the month-end due to the expiry of Futures and Options contracts. Another reason behind the current performance of the market is the global crude oil situation.
Maharashtra, four other states see Covid spike
India on Thursday reported 16,156 cases in 24 hours, showing an increase of 20 percent over the previous day. The death toll was 733. The states that have registered maximum cases are Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. The active cases account for 0.47% of the total infections while the national Covid-19 recovery rate improved to 98.20%.
SC gives nod to release NEET-UG results
The Supreme Court has cleared the way for National Testing Agency to release NEET-UG examination result, staying the recent Bombay High Court order which had directed the agency to hold the exam again for two undergraduate candidates. The apex court said that results of 16 lakh students cannot be put on hold.
Cruise drugs case witness Kiran Gosavi held in Pune
The Pune police on Thursday arrested Kiran Gosavi, an independent witness of the NCB in the drug-on-cruise case whose photos with Aryan Khan had got viral after the NCB raid. Pune police commissioner Amitabh Gupta said they had arrested Gosavi in connection with a 2018 cheating case registered against him.
Truck runs over three farmers in Haryana A speeding truck ran over three women farmers near the DelhiHaryana border, killing two instantly. The third one died in a hospital. The women were sitting on a divider when the truck hit them. Reports said the truck driver fled after the incident. The accident happened close to the Tikri border, where farmers have been protesting for months.