The Indian economy was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic as lockdowns led to shutting down of many businesses for months. But the rebound has been quick, thanks to government measures and the overall trend in the global economy. The pandemic has had positive results on several sectors of the economy, resulting in a surge in exports, said Yogesh Patil, Head-Equity, LIC MF at Cafemutual Confluence Investment Marathon 2021. He was sharing his views on the topic ‘Emerging Trends in India’.
Here are five insightful takeaways from the session to understand the emerging trends in the field of business. These trends have accelerated after the Covid-19 pandemic and will continue to dominate in the coming 5 to 10 years.
- Industry Consolidation – Yogesh believes that the reform measures such as demonetization, Goods and Service Tax (GST) and corporate tax cut have worked in favor of industries in India. “All these reforms have increased competition. Also, with the entry of players with better technologies, stringent regulations and a slowing economy, many businesses have witnessed consolidation, which is good for organized sector,” said Yogesh Patil.
Several sectors such as bank credit, cement, steel and telecom have observed 10-20% higher growth rate in the last decade, he added.
- Technology- With a surge in technology adoption, businesses have sky rocketed. Yogesh also laid focus on following advantages of digital technology:
- Faster reach to market
- Seamless customer experience
- Digital becoming default
- Virtual interaction
“Corporates have understood the importance of digitizing core operations and are investing in the same,” he said.
- Structural changes across industries- Another important trend which Yogesh pointed out was structural changes across industries. “Current drivers of structural changes in the world economy are globalization, convenience, cost, environment and government regulations.” he said.
- Reforms- Yogesh said that the reforms have led to increased competition resulting in more customer choice, increased investment and increased efficiency. Policy changes such as GST, agri reforms, labour laws, production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes and corporate tax cut have led to growth in new company registrations.
- Domestic Manufacturing- Initiatives such as ‘Make in India’ and ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ have focused on the manufacturing sector of India. Yogesh said that exports from India have gone up as compared to imports post the Covid-19 lockdown. “The numbers may not be that high but the results are encouraging,” said the equity head of LIC MF.
