The Platform is the only active channel for business issue redressal, operating 24/7 with a team of dedicated sector experts and responding to queries in a matter of hours
By: Deepak Bagla
While stories of COVID-19 disrupting normal life continue to mount up, the impact of this crisis on businesses across the country has taken a backseat. The government, for its part, has issued timely guidelines for businesses. However, business owners have been struggling to grasp what these guidelines mean for them and have been running pillar to post to resolve their issues. Till now, that is.
Realising the uncertainty that the Corona crisis has caused among businesses, Invest India, India’s national Investment Promotion & Facilitation Agency, has launched The Invest India Business Immunity Platform. The platform, hosted on the Invest India website, is designed as a comprehensive resource to help businesses and investors get real-time updates on India’s active response to COVID-19 (Coronavirus). This dynamic and constantly updating platform keeps a regular track on developments in the control of the virus, provides latest information on various central and state government initiatives, gives access to special provisions, and answers and resolves queries through emails and on WhatsApp.
The only platform for business issue redressal
The Business Immunity Platform (BIP) is the only active platform for business issue redressal, operating 24/7 with a team of dedicated sector experts and responding to queries in a matter of hours. Invest India has also announced a partnership with SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India) for responding and resolving queries for MSMEs.
Launched on 21st March 2020, the platform has already received over 320 queries from small, medium and large business seeking clarification and issue redressal support. The website has been visited more than 70,000 times. Invest India, through its social media platforms, is running campaigns to create awareness about this initiative.
Highlighting response mechanism of various organisations
The platform also includes frequently asked questions on important aspects like locations of COVID-19 testing, special permissions and other location-specific information. The portal also maps and highlights the response mechanism put in place by leading Indian companies such as sanitation of staff vehicles, placing orders in alternate markets, disabling biometric attendance systems, setting up of medical task force, requesting trainees to go home, business continuity plan, barring entry of visitors, suspension of air travel, usage of video-conferencing and tele-conferencing, developing online solutions and other unique initiatives.
It is a platform for all of us to get together in the face of this unprecedented challenge of COVID-19. The team is working towards finding clarifications and solutions in a rapidly evolving scenario, especially from the perspective of business continuity for the business community. This platform also provides the ability to join the dots to find matching suppliers with required supplies and for innovators, start-ups and MSMEs to show case their solutions. During the past 48 hours, we’ve had over 42,000 visitors across 40 countries and 70,000 plus hits on our website. The platform is seeing an average time spent of nearly 5 minutes. Since yesterday, the team has been working actively on over 320 business requests for business continuity and immunity. It is also a platform to hear from the experts on business strategies to be adopted during such times.
Deepak Bagla, MD & CEO, Invest India
Businesses are responding swiftly to the challenge. Through philanthropy, advocacy, corporate social responsibility programmes, and the propagation of shared values, India Inc is poised to combat the challenges it faces from this pandemic.
This Business Immunity Platform shall help people get access to all the information they require while staying in the comfort of their homes. With this platform, Invest India aims to bring facilitation at your doorstep.
Corporates’ Efforts to Battle COVID-19
- Mahindra
- 1) Mahindra Foundation will create a fund to assist small businesses & self-employed in its value chain
- 2) Work has begun on setting up manufacturing facilities to build ventilators
- 3) Mahindra Holiday resorts to be offered as temporary care facilities
- 4) Project team to assist Government of India in setting up temporary care facilities
- Hyundai
- 1) Hyundai has issued advisory to all dealers to make sanitizers more accessible, conducting temperature checks, and maintaining physical distance at showrooms
- 2) Hyundai has also introduced ‘Click to Buy’ feature to enable its customers buy a car completely online in an effort to reduce human interaction
- 3) Hyundai employees have been advised to not travel for domestic meetings unless absolutely necessary
- ITC
- 1) All international travels have been suspended and anyone coming from abroad has to meet a company doctor
- 2) Visitors are not allowed at the ITC premises to reduce human contact
- 3) Teleconferencing and Video Conferencing are being encouraged as a medium of communication
- Tata Steel
- 1) Has started placing orders for materials in alternative markets in the wake of coronavirus outbreak
- 2) Tata Steel has enabled twice-a-day sanitization of staff vehicles, disabled biometric attendance and has asked expecting mothers to work from home
- 3) Tata Steel has also set up a COVID-19 medical task force
MSME Initiatives to Combat COVID-19
1) Development Commissioner MSME has created a dedicated webpage spread awareness about COVID-19. The page also lists various government initiatives to fight against the outbreak.
2) Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has asked to issue advisories with regard to timely payment to MSME vendors and regular wages to contract workers, while continuing to support their livelihood
