Collaborating against coronavirus – 80 quotes of the week from India’s COVID-19 battle
In this new compilation series, we present powerful quotes from the week of April 13-19 that frame India’s coronavirus health challenge, and preparation for economic recovery.
Launched in 2014, StoryBites is a weekly feature from YourStory, featuring notable quotable quotes in our articles of this past week. This special series of compilations focuses on India’s COVID-19 struggle (see last week’s post here). Share these quotes and excerpts with your networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights.
Despite some finger-pointing and blame games between countries, cooperation across the board is picking up as countries battle the global coronavirus crisis. Humanity is being tested as never before, but is also rising to the challenge.
Frontline healthworkers need the most technical and emotional support in these times, and a number of innovations and systems are falling into place in India. The vast socio-economic divides in the country call for special measures to reduce loss of livelihood and promote economic recovery.
Dealing with uncertainty and flat growth is the new business normal. Interestingly, digital transformation is receiving a boost as never before, and sectors like gaming, online education and IT security are witnessing significant growth.
Despite a number of unfortunate incidents of hate speech and community bias in some news organisations, stories of heroic efforts by institutions and individuals continue to be highlighted. Many brands are transforming their messages in this time of crisis, and competitors are becoming collaborators.
In response to the crisis, YourStory has set up the Resource Centre for Startups and SMBs. When worry, fear, and misinformation are spreading, this online resource helps set the record straight through expert advice, business tips, wellness practices, and workflow suggestions. See also our pick of 60 quotes on coping with a crisis.
Ultimately, the greatest lesson that COVID-19 can teach humanity is that we are all in this together. - Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Biocon
COVID-19 has affected the world at large, but this has also given us a glimpse of the good that exists. - Amit Gupta, Yulu
The fact is, uncertainty is the reality of the moment. - Samir Parikh, Fortis Healthcare
To beat this worldwide pandemic, the world has to, must come together. - Shah Rukh Khan
In the fight to end this crisis, we truly can't afford to lose anyone behind. - Priyanka Chopra Jonas
Social distancing is an important response to the pandemic, but we need to ensure that it does not become social isolation or alienation, particularly for the vulnerable groups of our society. - Bharti Gitay, Mpower
There is nothing short term about this crisis. Even in Beijing and Shanghai, it has taken three months for people to come back on the streets. - Gautam Chhugani, Bernstein
We can't lower our guard. We are still far from half-time. - Erna Solberg, Norway’s Prime Minister
It is clear that a remote vital tracking system is the need of the hour. - Ranjana Nair, RayIoT
Aarogya Setu, India's app to fight COVID-19, has reached 50 million users in just 13 days - the fastest ever globally for an app. - Amitabh Kant, Niti Aayog
Usually, intubation is a complicated process, which needs trained respiratory therapists. - Siraj Dhanani, InnAccel
There is a need for a huge amount of non-invasive ventilation as well because invasive ventilation, which puts a lot of pressure on the lungs, can cause damage to the lungs that are already under distress. - Hyma Goparaju, Avyantra
Due to coronavirus, both focus on air pollution and respiratory wellness will significantly increase in times to come. - Namita Gupta, Airveda
Access to medicines 24X7 is a basic right of all citizens as a medical emergency can never be predetermined. - Obaid Abdul Aziz, Medicalwale.com
Some people are panicking as they do not know whether they have coronavirus or the simple flu. They do not know how or when to get tested. - Saurav Bhaik, Tagbin
With teleconsultation, one can interact with the doctor comfortably from home, share their feedback and decide when is the need to visit the hospital and avoid any unnecessary visits. - Vijayarathna Venkatraman, Motherhood Hospitals
A good immune response is key in defeating COVID-19. - Anu Acharya, Mapmygenome
The lockdown has taken a toll on people with disabilities. - Ketan Kothari, Sightsavers
IoT can help prevent diseases like COVID-19 by eliminating the need to touch items to operate them in various scenarios, be it at home, a hotel, and offices. - Arpit Chhabra, IoTfy
Finding the right people to sell and service medical equipment will always be a challenge in our country. - Siddharth Rajvanshi, Technik Spirits
In light of the situation, women weavers from various NGOs and weaving communities in Assam are making these masks. - Dhruba Jyoti Deka, Brahmaputra Fables
This is something that is a challenge in an ongoing outbreak: to identify all of your cases and all of your deaths. - Maria van Kerkhove, the WHO
In times like these, we all need to come together to support our communities and the efforts of healthcare workers, NGOs, and government organisations. - Kathleen McLaughlin, Walmart
The healthcare community is doing an exceptional job in these tough times. But burnout among the healthcare community is a serious cause of concern. - Ankush Sabharwal, CoRover
This is the time when brands need to be seen as socially, morally, and ethically responsible. - Anindita Gupta
Brands have to step up their strategic thinking to stay ahead of the curve in a rapidly evolving market environment. - Sanjay Bhan, Hero MotoCorp
It is crucial for brands to focus on proactive, fact-based communications with all stakeholders – employees, customers, and business partners – to avoid unnecessary panic. - Upasna Dash, Jajabor Brand Consultancy
Build a camaraderie that will carry you through everything else and build a culture that is unparalleled. - Pramod Bhasin, Clix Capital
Companies should be focused on developing a strategic plan for workplace flexibility, digitisation, virtual collaboration, and well being in the workplace. - Anshuman Magazine, CBRE
The new normal will be that 20 percent of the workforce will always work from home on a rotational basis. - Kris Gopalakrishnan, Axilor Ventures
Flat is the new growth today - every business needs to ensure it survives first before it can thrive. - Naveen Tewari, InMobi
The global pandemic has accelerated the need for enterprises to scale their supply chain operations efficiently to meet the rising share of online deliveries. - Shweta Bhatia, Eight Roads Ventures
Now is the time for us to look after the people who work for us. When a company steps up at a time like this, it builds loyalty, commitment, and long-lasting teams. - Arjun Agarwal, Cinerama
Optimising travel for cost and experience is a priority for every business on the planet. - Gourav Bhattacharya, Matrix India
Most astute investors and bankers who have been through a similar crisis are advising conserving cash at all costs by cutting costs, reducing salaries, and pruning manpower. - T N Hari, BigBasket
Clarity on the directions against job and pay cuts for businesses under lockdown and even those operating is required. - Rohan Batra, R&R Law Chambers
May the Force (Majeure) be with you! - Sonam Chandwani, KS Legal & Associates
There's a significant transition in how companies are investing in their employees' mental well being and happiness because they can now see that it affects their work. - Pragnya Wakhlu, Mousai
This is a really good time to rest, recuperate, and work on areas, which you wish to work on which you would otherwise not be able to if you were on the road. - Varun Aaron
Many trainers have quickly risen to the occasion and invested in excellent virtual platforms, bringing their clients the best of their knowledge and experience. - Deepa Kannan, PFNR
Let this also be the time for us to appreciate what we have. - Lakshmi Menon, coVeed
I have seen what a laugh can do. It can transform almost unbearable tears into something bearable, even hopeful. - Bob Hope
It is absolutely critical for businesses and public sector customers to have access to a comprehensive suite of offerings that are enterprise ready, secure, frictionless, and that integrate with existing tools. - Tami Erwin, Verizon Business
SMBs need access to business critical applications while working remotely. - Harshad Satam, AISPL
So far, India has walked the tight rope as well as it could have, given its resources and management capabilities. - Arvind Panagariya
It is important to ensure that finance, which is the lifeline of the economy, keeps flowing seamlessly to various sectors of the economy. - Shaktikanta Das, RBI
The government needs to plan the next phase carefully as many brands are not able to supply food products to the market. - Lalit Bhise, Mobisy Technologies
The government needs to help businesses. This event is perhaps the most unexpected. - Kris Gopalakrishnan, Axilor Ventures
If all the players in the travel ecosystem rise up the occasion and come forward to support each other, we can ensure that all of us will emerge from the incumbent crisis safe and sound. - Dharamveer Singh Chouhan, Zostel
While things on ground have certainly eased a bit, inter-city and inter-state transportation is still a concern. - Narendra Pasuparthy, Nandu’s Chicken
As the COVID-19 outbreak disrupts the socio-economic order of the country, city administrations and the private sector are collaborating to maximise their efforts towards fighting the pandemic. - Akshay Tripathi, KSCL
The national lockdown has affected the normal cycles of supply of milk to cities. But more important is the severe impact on thousands of dairy farmers across the country. - Palak Gosai, Coastal Salinity Prevention Cell
Local news is a vital resource for keeping people and communities connected in the best of times. - Richard Gingras, Google News
The local community can quickly identify local issues, and provide local solutions fast. And that is exactly what is needed today: speed. - Atul Jalan, Manthan
There is a strong case to be made that the media deserves to be recognised and supported by governments as an essential service at this time. - Guy Berger, UNESCO
In a crisis, be aware of the danger, but recognise the opportunity. - John F Kennedy
Globally, all industries will divide up into winners and losers. - Suchi Mukherjee, LimeRoad
There are some interesting opportunities in these times and some great entrepreneurs too. - Ronnie Screwvala, Upgrad
Gaming companies for instance, are actually taking this as an opportunity to grow 10 times because they realise that the cost of acquisition has actually declined significantly. - Pei-Fu Hsieh, Karbon Card
Online education has now become mainstream, unlike yesteryear when it was just a one-time event. - Mayank Kumar, upGrad
Given the current environment, schools institutions are going online around the world as they send students home with no timeline for return. - Vibha Mahajan, Matific India
The demand for leasing services will pick up as the lockdown eases over time as people will avoid cabs and public transport due to the risk of contracting the disease. - Ashwarya Singh, Drivezy
The time to come will see social media companies focusing on enabling G2C and C2G communications. - Edward Tse, Gao Feng Advisory
As friends and colleagues in the office become more virtual, individuals will rely more on their co-living mates for social support. - Prabhat Kumar Tiwari, YourOwnROOM
Using drones in the broader understanding of security and surveillance during COVID-19 can also be integrated with megaphones. - Ankit Mehta, ideaForge
Investors are still happy to explore investing in startups focused on sectors that will become critical due to COVID-19 – healthcare, cybersecurity, online plays, logistics, etc. - Padmaja Ruparel of IAN
This pandemic threatens to severely set back economic, social, and development gains in Asia and the Pacific, reverse progress on poverty reduction, and throw economies into recession. - Masatsugu Asakawa, ADB
We project global growth in 2020 to fall to -3 percent. This is a downgrade of 6.3 percentage points from January 2020, a major revision over a very short period. - Gita Gopinath, IMF
25 percent, or one in four of India’s 6.9 crore MSMEs, might get closed if the lockdown extends beyond four to eight weeks. - DK Aggarwal, PHDCCI
The auto industry is engaged in a dialogue with the Indian government on policy measures that could minimise the impact of COVID-19. - Rajan Wadhera, SIAM
There are restaurants that run the very real risk of shutting down permanently due to lack of business. This, in turn, has the potential to destroy the livelihoods of thousands. - Sriharsha Majety, Swiggy
Government has allowed transportation of essential products; it is also important that dhabas and food stalls on the highways remain open for the truck drivers. - Anil Agarwal, Vedanta
The problem of managing fuel requirements is even more acute in large volume business consumers segments such as fleet operators. - Ashish Gupta, MyPetrolPump
The ocean of bountiful growth is receding. Not everyone has the ability to handle adversity and that will become clear in the months ahead. - Sid Mookerji, Silicon Road
As the world faces this unprecedented global health crisis, it is clear that no one company can do it alone. - Paul Hudson, Sanofi
Evolving product features based on emerging hygiene and disinfection needs, localisation, increased degree of automation, digitisation and innovations in financing, and a set of economic stimulus by the government are the needs of the hour. - Ashim Sharma, NRI
The outbreak of COVID-19 has thrown an unprecedented challenge to the nation and its citizens. It demands us to stand together and fight the challenge. - Sandeep Batra, ICICI Bank
Speed, agility, and innovation are required from governments, businesses, and society in crafting responses to cope with this evolving new normal. - Arun M Kumar, KPMG India
Now is the time to collaborate and not compete. - Ankit Rungta, Story @Home
YourStory has also published the pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups’ as a creative and motivational guide for innovators (downloadable as apps here: Apple, Android).
(Edited by Teja Lele Desai)