‘Being empathetic and emotional makes much good happen in this world’ – 25 quotes from India’s COVID-19 struggle

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.

Remember, the cases have decreased, but the virus is still around. - Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa

During the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the usage of chatbots saw a surge in the healthcare sector because the patients completely relied on digital healthcare due to the cancellation of many elective surgeries and other healthcare facilities. - Amar Dani, Shubu.ai

While the healthcare sector in India has seen drastic advancements in the fight against COVID-19, vitamin and mineral supplements have been the go-to as a first defence against the virus. - Divij Bajaj, Power Gummies

Many children were orphaned, many families lost their sole breadwinner. - Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

India must strive for a comprehensive approach to stop the impact of the pandemic on the most vulnerable. - Romesh Wadhwani, Wadhwani Foundation

Recently, the World Bank has approved a $500 million programme to support MSMEs in India. The move aims to increase liquidity access for viable small businesses impacted by COVID-19, supporting some 5,55,000 MSMEs in the country. - Manish Bhatnagar, SKF India

Access to reliable credit is key to accelerating the growth of MSMEs, especially in this post-pandemic environment. - Sharath Bulusu, Google Pay

Balancing the demands of pandemic job recovery, security, and flexibility with the massive labour needs posed by a reopened economy have never been more important. - Sumir Meghani, Instawork

When the markets opened, the café segment bounced back quickly, as many consumers preferred to go out and have a quick cup of coffee rather than planning an entire fine-dine experience. - Abhinav Mathur, Kaapi Machines

Learning transformation is the need of the hour – one that is focused on the connection between continuous reskilling or upskilling on one hand, and the actual work on the other. - Diwakar Chittora, Intellipaat

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Digital classrooms and concomitant technologies will be the enablers of ‘business continuity' in education. - Narasimha Jayakumar, Aakash Edutech

Gamechilling is something that has emerged over the last 12 months, as a direct consequence of the pandemic, resulting in the business of online gaming turning into a serious opportunity. - KPMG report

Industries emerging from COVID-19 will need to reinvent supply chains in a way that mitigates exposure to similar risks in the future. Here, digital technologies will be at the centre of this reinvention. - Anubha Dixit, Tongadive

Mobile payments have been one of the more resilient sectors, as it witnessed significant organic adoption amidst growing COVID-19 concerns with other digital/non-digital modes of payments. - RedSeer

Ultimately, the pandemic helped catalyse a shift across the agricultural economy, away from traditional, informal, and analogue markets towards innovative, formal, and digital ones. - Accel-Omnivore report

People thought the beta variant was going to spread around the continent and overwhelm our health systems, but with AI we were able to control that. - Jude Kong, ACAIDIC

Time is of the utmost essence in the post-COVID scenario, and e-procurement proves to be a great time saver. - Naman Shah, NowPurchase

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As people started working from home, they realised the need for a comfortable seating setup. - Ravi Khushwani, Green Soul

While work-from-home has evolved into work-from-anywhere for Gen Z, leisure travel also takes on a whole new meaning in the age of restricted travel. - Padmaja Ruparel, Indian Angel Network

The managed office space sector is poised for healthy growth. - Rahul Sarin, Skootr FinSave

It has been heartening to hear the many stories of neighbours coming closer together to tackle this unprecedented situation for over a year now. - Vijay Arisetty, MyGate

Sometimes you have to work more as a citizen than as a celebrity. - Richa Chadha, KiNDRY

It is not possible to be emotionally detached. Being empathetic and emotional makes much good happen in this world. Please be moved by it. - Azim Premji, Azim Premji Foundation

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).