National Technology Day: One step for IT company policy, a giant leap for overall benefits
Author: Shruti Rao
As the whole world is getting used to life in lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic some of the biggest information technology companies made a welcome announcement. In the last week of April 2020 companies like Infosys, Tech Mahindra, and TCS announced that they will have 75-90% of their staff working from home permanently. This was followed by Facebook announcing that it would let its employees work from home for one year and Google announcing its employees will be allowed to work from home until the end of 2020.
Watch: The First Indian $100 Bn Company is a Software Giant
Different parts of the world have responded to the work from home option with their own set of challenges. For example, a study conducted by an Argentinian based public policy think-tank surveyed 250 firms in Argentina and found 93% of them had switched to teleworking. Another study by Baldwin, R and B Weder di Mauro on ‘Economics in the time of COVID-19’ revealed that while 96% of top executives in Japan understood the necessity for work from home only 31% managed to adopt teleworking because there are no clear rules of teleworking in Japan as yet.
It is presumed that workers in developed countries would be able to adopt a teleworking lifestyle more easily than in a developing nation due to infrastructure and other technological advancements and the culture that puts emphasis on work-life balance. So where does India fall with tech giants such as Infosys, TCS, etc adopting the same policy?
On this National Technology Day, let us have a look at the pros and cons of how the digital transformation of the information communication technology companies in India will affect the workforce and the economy.
Starting with the positives, the work from home policy has many benefits not only for the workforce but also on the environmental issues that India faces:
1. Work-Life Balance:
Right off the bat, it is pertinent to address India’s work culture, which often gets a bad reputation with the long-work hours and terrible commuting times. A study by MoveInSync says that Indians on average spend a minimum of 2 hours in traffic every day to commute to and from work, this makes up for 7% of their day. In the past, there have been calls for including the commute time into the work hours as well. By working from home, it will not only ensure that employees will have that extra hour to spend on their families, and health, giving them an overall sense of well-being.
2. More Women in the Workforce
A lot of women for a long time now have had to quit the workforce to tend to families. This has curtailed their career progression. So women who are looking to re-join will have more flexible options. JobsForHer, a job search portal catering to women, saw more companies open up roles that were not previously open to women in the month of March 2020 as compared to the pre-COVID times. The work from home policy would be a step in the right direction to close the gender gap at the workplace
3. Environmental Benefits:
As mentioned above, millions of workers commute for 2 hours on average to and from work daily. A work from home policy could benefit the environment as well, as it would reduce the amount of toxic pollution being let out every day by vehicles, reduce the sound pollution and also help metro cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore with terrible traffic woes to ease their traffic during rush hour. It would also improve the health of workers as they would not be inhaling toxic fumes during this traffic any more.
4. Boost in 5G adoption at home
India is at the cusp of adopting 5G technology, a work from home policy may lead to a surge in demand for home connections for this technology. Manish Vyas, CEO, Network, Tech Mahindra shared recently that telecom companies will have to look for a product mix that will fulfill the growing digitization needs in India. This would be a boost to the telecom industry.
5. Minimizing fixed costs
From a business point of view, it would certainly reduce some of the fixed costs such as rents, utilities, maintenance, etc, for businesses should they cut back on the number of employees who need to come into work. This would help companies manage their finances in the post-COVID economy.
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While the benefits seem too good to be true, the Indian economy also will come with its own set of challenges as this policy is adopted:
1. A decrease in employment opportunities for staff
A lot of manpower is required to maintain traditional offices and therefore generates a lot of employment. If businesses start shutting down large offices and move to smaller spaces, India will need to have a plan B for critical staff that is employed to keep the offices smoothly functioning every day.
2. Real Estate Sector
A majority of income in real estate is generated from the commercial real estate sector. With companies cutting back on office space the commercial real estate sector will have to find innovative ways to keep up in the race. Most employees like working from home, but most of them also like coming into work. The real estate market will have to innovate and find flexible solutions for companies to cater to the new trends in the workplace
2. Impact on the Telecommunication sector
While it is exciting to think about the adoption of the upcoming 5G technology, it would be important to also think about the burden that might fall on the telecommunication industry in India. Quality of service would be very important to deliver if the workplace shifts to home. The existing infrastructure in India for the information communication technology in India is inadequate and will have to be revamped to ensure a smooth transition from a traditional workplace to working from home.
Theoretically speaking, the pros seem to definitely outweigh the cons. However, only time passes by will we know how the effectiveness of this new policy being adopted by the information technology companies. However, until then it is exciting to think of the upcoming possibilities at a personal, professional, and environmental front.
Mastering India focuses on blending various methods of learning (blended learning) through its online courses, events, and travel-based experiences. We give you an insight into the rich culture and heritage of the world’s biggest democracy – India. At Mastering India we are driven towards building awareness around India and help you understand the growth opportunities in this country.
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Chakda: Technological Innovation in Rural India
By Himanshu Shukla
This is part one of our blog series on “Technological Innovations in Rural India”
As it is often said, “necessity is the mother of invention”. Talent can be found anywhere, and this is visible in the multipurpose modified Royal Enfield engine. They can be seen mostly in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, India.
Earlier, old bikes ran on petrol, now diesel engines are also available in the market. When I visited my friend Ankur’s village Pedhla, near Jetpur city of Rajkot district in Gujarat; I was surprised to see how modified diesel engines were used by the locals. From the transportation of goods to conducting agricultural activities like ploughing and spraying of pesticides or fertilizers; modified diesel engines were used everywhere. It was even being used for commuting as well! The name given to this vehicle by people of Gujarat is Chakda and it’s been in Gujarat since the 1970s. I saw this as the best combination of creativity and sustainability in terms of its economical utilization.
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According to RTO (Regional Transport Office) of Rajkot, nearly 10,000 chakdas are moving on roads** and this number is very small considering the size of the state of Gujarat. However, its local availability makes it significant.
There are many reasons why chakda became the lifeline of rural Gujarat in India. During my exploration, I tried to figure it out by meeting the villagers. Why do they not prefer the usual small tractors, which are better designed for agricultural purposes? Why do they prefer chakda? How does chakda make their life easier?
To begin with, chakda has one big advantage over other vehicles available in the market is its adaptability. Even though a mini tractor is available in the market at a price range of Rs. 2 – 3 lakh, the problem arises with its associated parts. Add-ons are required for agriculture activities. If a person already has a cultivator or a plough, then it’s easy to reuse them with a chakda by welding. The mini tractor in comparison becomes a costly affair. One has to make a trip to the tractor company (which is usually far off) for modifications. The chakda, on the other hand, allows for modifications locally at welding shops. This way not only is it convenient to use but is easy on the pocket as well.
Figure: Tractor with cultivators used for ploughing the field
Figure: Chakda use for commutations inside the cities
From Cows to Chakda: Why the Transition?
It is common in rural Indian culture to worship cows and have livestock at home for various agricultural purposes. The transition from cows to chakda took place due to the following reasons:
- As farmers chose to grow cash crops, the availability of fodder for the livestock went down drastically
- The emergence of water scarcity also had a negative impact on livestock in rural areas.
- Vehicles like the tractors have a big turning radius when compared to chakda. This made chakdas easier to handle especially in the black soil which is found throughout in the state of Gujarat.
- People of Gujarat were quick to learn how to manufacture chakda Add to this, when the locals learned the art of servicing and modifying the engines, the adoption rate of chakdas grew at a fast rate. Today, this vehicle is used for many goods transportation, agriculture activities, commutations, and in some cases even as an ambulance.
- The rental model allowed people to use machines for several hours and pay by the hour.
Figure: Livestock of a farmer in Gujarat
An interesting thing is that some of these modified machines can run on kerosene as well. There was a time when kerosene was cheap thanks to government subsidies. Nowadays, with petrol/diesel pumps are easily available in rural India, kerosene is not used that widely.
Figure: Showing usage of the vehicle for spraying pesticide or insecticide
Source: Ankur Khanpara, PhD Research Scholar at CTARA, IIT Bombay
Technological Innovation at Grassroot Level in Rural India
Many innovative technologies are developed locally rather than by any qualified engineers. The best part is, most of these technologies are community-driven self-initiatives which are invented based on the needs of society. Chakda is one of those technologies which has been very helpful in rural areas of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat.
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Besides several advantages, technological innovations like chakda have some downsides as well. One major drawback of chakda is its non-compliance with the pollution norms of India. As most of these vehicles work on old engines, and with lakhs of these vehicles are running on the roads of Gujarat, it will have a negative impact on the environment. With the livelihood of several locals dependent on chakda, no strict laws have been implemented on its usage as of now. The policymakers on their part are working towards coming up with a viable solution that could benefit the local population without compromising on the environmental aspects.
Go to hub.masteringindia.org now to explore the numerous online courses on various aspects of Indian society, which can effectively facilitate your transition to this market; whether to expand your reach or to benefit from Indian expertise and smoothen the operations of your primary market. The efforts of LinkedIn, Nokia, Thales, among others, demonstrate this so well. What are you waiting for?
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An SLX Story to Warm Your Heart
The challenges of development are complex. It is easy to think about the challenge of providing education to the underprivileged as one that involves making available schools and educational materials. While that is important, in many developing countries the problems of access to food, mobility and education, gender equity etc are often linked. How can one organisation address all of these Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s)? Our story focuses on an extraordinary NGO called Akshaya Patra, a legendary food bowl that is always full.
SLX Swiss Learning Exchange decided to gift a video to a foundation in India. We have called the video “SLX Story on Akshay Patra :fighting hunger in India ” It is a story about one single organisation, which addresses 10 of the 17 sustainable development goals, through its work alone. It is a Harvard Case study and has come in the Stanford Innovation Review for its innovative scaling up.
When business and empathy come together, miracles do happen. Watch our video to learn about this innovative initiative that will warm your heart.