‘COVID-19 has adversely impacted the already distressed early education sector’ – 20 quotes from India’s pandemic struggle

Launched in 2014, StoryBites is a weekly feature from YourStory, featuring notable quotable quotes in our articles of this past week (see the previous edition here). This special series of compilations focuses on India’s COVID-19 struggle. Share these quotes and excerpts with your networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights.

See also our pick of Top Quotes of 2021 on Entrepreneurship, Investment, Digital Transformation, Storytelling, The India Opportunity, Pandemic Resilience, Failure Recovery, Design, and Art.

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COVID-19 has adversely impacted the already distressed early education sector. - Pranay Adhvaryu, Gray Matters Capital

The COVID-19 crisis has exposed the influence of China on global trade and supply chains. It has sensitised the rest of the world to establish a balance. - Vishal Shah. Acme Universe

As the world steadily moves out of this pandemic, the documentary ['Mother will Arrive'] will always be a reminder of things and of hope during a crisis. - Runa Mukherjee Parikh, ‘Maa toh Ashbei’

Pandemic after-effects coupled with more aspirational lifestyles could result in further [savings rate] declines as high inflation continues to erode savings. - Sumit Gwalani, epiFi

When we went into lockdown during the pandemic, we had a lot of time on our hands. We got talking about introducing sustainability in our lives. - Neha Goenka Shroff, Yobler

Creating art naturally became my outlet and coping mechanism. Art really helped me express my thoughts very freely. - Reet Baheti, Vasantha Arts

Even today, as COVID-19 is still around, we are weighing our options and treading cautiously. - Vishal Sharma, Kuremal Mohanlal Kulfi

The pandemic made everyone stay indoors. Though the business was up and running, we saw a dip in the demand. - Nikhil Ranjan, William Penn

The core of the product was built during COVID when all of us were locked up at home, and we continue to be a distributed team. - Aditya Pisupati, Ving Hybrid

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Most of our consumers realise that Cars24 is not only about convenience, but also about improving their experience in every possible way. - Vikram Chopra, Cars24

We have seen a rise in the number of online customers as well, which wasn’t there before the pandemic. - Adith Fernandes, Fresh Catch

Unavoidable circumstances like the risk of COVID-19 blocked us in reaching out to farmers. - Sat Kumar Tomer, Satyukt Analytics

During the lockdown in 2020, farmers were not able to cultivate crops or sell their produce. We initiated Project LEAP that helped them increase the production of watermelons and sell their entire harvest. - Prem Shankar, Torpa

Global use of cryptocurrencies has increased exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic, including in developing countries. - UNCTAD

Digital acceleration, brought on by the pandemic, has dramatically increased technology spending across the world. - Nandan Nilekani, Fundamentum

Indian fintechs have undeniable scale, provided superior value to customers, and have emerged resilient through a once-in-a-lifetime crisis in Covid. - Vikram Vaidyanathan, Matrix India

While COVID-19 made us look at the role of technology, it also made us realise that we are not doing enough! - Nidhi Bhasin, NASSCOM Foundation

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In the last two years of the pandemic, everyone’s been working from home. Video collaboration was pretty straightforward: you would receive a link, click on it, and get on with the meeting. - Aditya Pisupati, Ving Hybrid

The implementation of Smart Supply Chain Innovation (SSCI) in India is only feasible with the use of cutting-edge, web-based applications that can support a data-accurate transaction system, taking into account the need for remote solutions in the wake of COVID-19 lockdowns. - Arun Singhal, Source.One

In terms of focus, investment activity in sectors that saw an upside amid the pandemic such as edtech, D2C, and teleconsultation has tapered off. Other sectors like climate, sustainability, and electric mobility have taken off after the pandemic. - Anup Jain, Orios Venture Partners

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).