A coalition of major tech companies pledged to develop digital skills for the ASEAN workforce. The pledge, part of the World Economic Forum’s Digital ASEAN initiative, aims to train by 2020 some 20 million people in South-East Asia, especially those working in small- and medium-size enterprises. Other goals include raising USD2 million in contributions to provide scholarships for ASEAN technology students, ensuring an additional 200,000 digital workers are hired across the region, and engaging at least 20,000 citizens through “Digital Inspiration Days”, whereby companies invite students and the public to visit their offices and learn more about the character of the jobs of the future. There will also be internship opportunities for ASEAN university students, as well as initiatives to train digital regulators and shape the curricula of technology and computing courses at 20 ASEAN universities. The aim of the pledge is to establish a regional movement among businesses committed to empowering individuals through skilling, reskilling and upskilling. It will not only increase the number of workers hired for digital jobs and trained in digital skills, but also help support business leaders with insight and analysis of what other companies in the region are doing to build a future-focused workforce.

This pandemic situation is unprecedented happening in most of the human beings’ (ours) lifetime. We have heard and read out in history how earlier Mahamari’s have devasted human lives. Technologically the world is much more advance compared to the past when such type of epidemic broke out. Due to social media and faster communication, all sort of information which may be right or wrong is circulating and making fear and mostly misinformed false facts to appear as if truth. The excessive information on our mobile / TV or through social media diminishes understanding and thoughtfulness, causes distractions, creates a skewed Self-Image and continuous anxiety. As per our Hindu philosophy, a spiritually illumined soul is immortal. This pandemic Corona has given all of us a chance to retrospects our lives, futility of the material things, and above all feeling of the mortality of life. Unfortunately, all of us have mastered living as if we are going to live forever. We never stop the review and rethink to learn the voice of our inner soul. Our ancient wisdom and religion taught us to perform all thy actions with mind concentrated on the Divine, renouncing attachment and looking upon success and failure with an equal eye. Spirituality implies equanimity. The Bhagavad-Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of endowing value to mankind. It is one of the clearest and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is subject not only to Indian context but to all of humanity. Hinduism comes closest to being a nature religion. Rivers, rocks, trees, plants, animals, and birds all play their part, both in mythology and everyday worship. But, what actually we, as an individual, as a society and as a nation have forgotten all our wisdom. Instead of talking about negativity, panic, and miseries, or all falsified blasting of messages on social media, let us cool down, think about life as a road to death. I am quoting Satguru from his recent book ” If you are shy of Death, you will only become shy of life and escape life and its many manifestations, but Death you shall not miss. To know Death, to be able to leverage mortality as an impetus to taste life profoundly is the purpose of life. Life and Death are not exclusive of each other but inseparable ingredients of one phenomenon. To know the phenomenon beyond the perishable mortal coil, to know life in all its dimensions, Death or the constant awareness of Death is a must. It is only in the awareness of the inevitable nature of Death that you will bite deeper into the fruit of life. So let us dedicate these challenging days to inner silence, share positivity, life values, and natural harmony. So, friends, take this period of social distancing as a golden chance to retrospect and search within ourselves, our values, and self-actualization.

Post-Lockdown and the normalized situation probably in June or after, the entire Indian economy would change. The Health sector, Hygiene sector, Digital Factories, Digital marketing, AI, Remote work solutions, Cloud computing, Telecom, Agro and food processing, Health food, Traditional Medicine sector, Engineering Sector, Agriculture implements, Agriculture, and robotics, etc will have great future. Luxury products, tourism, gems and jewelry, handicrafts, consumer electronics, automobile, and garment sectors will see a serious slowdown. There will be an entire employment shift, working changes. Most of the companies would not like to have full-time employees and the GIG economy will be a reality. GOI should work in identifying products that can be stopped from China. Now, most of the countries will redefine their own import-export policies and the WTO rules will be flouted by many countries resulting in a move towards deglobalization. For India it may be a golden chance for increasing the manufacturing base, tap international investors willing to move out their manufacturing base from China. Strictly ensuring Import curb’s from China without bothering from respective organized industry sector demands, as most of them would still prefer getting supplies from China due to low price. Indian Industry should explore new markets and emerging economies like Africa, Latin Americas and Asian markets which will prove more lucrative as the USA and Europe our traditional export markets will bottom out to a large extent. We must be ready for ourselves and the society at large to face the challenges of the economy onslaught which is evident now and be gear up.