The Chamber at its meeting held on 15th July 2020 had organised a Panel Discussion along with Mr. Darshan Hiranandani, Managing Director, Hiranandani Group of Companies and Mrs. Minu Budhia, a trained Psychotherapist and Counsellor, Founder Director of Caring Minds, a psychological wellness centre as well as Founder of I Can Fly - an Institute for Children with Special Needs.

The President moderated the session advised with Mr. Hiranandani sharing his thoughts on survival strategies of businesses post-COVID phase and Mrs. Budhia will touching upon aspects such as anxiety and depression arising from uncertainties caused by the Pandemic.

Mr. Darshan Hiranandani in his presentation touched upon the following aspects:

▪  COVID-19 has been accepted as a reality and we are adapting to it in various ways. The services sector, through the practice of .Work From Home. (WFH) was going through hyper-productivity and this could be the 'new normal'.

▪  Certain sectors are severely affected in the down-cycles e.g. tourism and hospitality, airlines etc. while certain other sectors like data, telecom, e-commerce are showing growth.

▪  E-commerce has exploded and these players are looking for expansion and more warehousing space.

▪  Changes in business strategies and resource reallocations and conservations on project related work in the Hiranandani Group, as a fallout of the Pandemic, was shared. During this period the Group commissioned Asia's largest data centre at Mumbai, which though a futuristic investment, was presently giving returns.

▪  Huge disruptions caused by construction workers moving out of Mumbai with their return remaining uncertain, could result in mechanization of many operations earlier done manually by these workers.

▪  It was emphasized that the country was hugely short of welders, plumbers, masons, electricians etc. and often the value creation by such workers are under-estimated.

▪  How we adapt to changes being brought about by COVID will need to be viewed (i) on how the WFH model will accelerate and (ii) on how we make our workers more skillful and productive.

▪  During the COVID period hyper agility is necessary to explore and focus on customer needs as the economy has not stalled to that extent.

Mr. Hiranandani concluded by saying that the MSME sector for its survival should join the digital age. He also advised that a programme is under discussion with the MSME Ministry at the Centre to enable MSMEs : to access digital warehouse on creation of appropriate websites, call center app, email address etc. at a nominal cost to link digitally to the market place.

Mrs. Minu Budhia thanked the President and all members of the Chamber for the opportunity to dwell on "Mental Health in COVID Times". She engaged with the members on an interactive platform as they were seeking answers on various aspects affecting the mind, and the challenges due to the uncertainties being faced. The discussion brought out a few aspects as follows:

▪  India has 9000 psychiatrists which means that there is only one psychiatrist per lakh. Nearly 38.5% of corporate executives sleep for less than 5 hours a day leading to hypertension, diabetes, depression and nearly 1 in 5 persons need counseling either psychological or psychiatric. 42.5% of corporate employees suffer from depression. ▪  Red flags to watch out for in persons suffering from depression and in need of counseling.

▪  Feeling empty, fatigued, hopeless, helpless, anxious, discontent and/or guilty. Falling concentration levels, slower than usual in performing tasks, drastic change in behaviour, and other such symptoms if constantly present for more than 2 to 3 weeks, needdiagnosis and intervention.

▪  Spreading of awareness about mental wellness will help removing the stigma attached to seeking psychiatric help. The role of close family members and their care and constant communication are vital for the mentally challenged.

▪  Free helplines for those who cannot afford expensive psychiatric consultations was available. Corporates can come forward with assistance also under their CSR initiatives.

The Session was followed by an invigorating round of discussions with the Panelists on socio-economic issues and the way forward.