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Business EYE MARCH 26, 2021 | The Indian Eye 40

baCK to normal In 2022?

global CeOs think so as India

battles second wave

RBI says economic revival is expected to continue unabated as vaccination and experience of

dealing with the coronavirus will reduce the impact of the recent surge

Our Bureau During lockdown, remote

New Delhi working has become the norm,
which poses new data security
lmost half (45 per cent) risks to organizations. As a re-
of global executives sult, global business leaders in-
Ado not expect to see a cluding in India have identified
return to a ‘normal’ course of cyber security as the top con-
business until sometime in 2022 cern impacting their growth and
as opposed to nearly one-third operations over a three-year pe-
(31 per cent) who anticipate riod. Cyber security was named
this will happen later this year, ahead of regulatory, tax and
according to global professional supply chain concerns.
services firm KPMG. Meanwhile, Reserve Bank
The 2021 KPMG CEO of India governor Shaktikanta
Outlook Pulse Survey also Das on Thursday said econom-
finds that changes prompted ic revival is expected to contin-
by the pandemic have resulted RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das ue unabated as vaccination and
in one-quarter (24 per cent) of experience of dealing with the
CEOs saying that their business confident that their workforce digitization of operations and coronavirus will reduce the im-
model has been changed forev- is protected against this virus,” creation of next-generation pact of the recent surge in cases.
er by the global pandemic. The said Bill Thomas, Global Chair- models. Three-quarters (76 per “This time around, com-
study conducted by KPMG in man and CEO of KPMG. cent) of CEOs globally see gov- pared to last year March or April,
February and March this year “The Covid-19 vaccine roll- ernment encouragement for we have additional insurance.
asked 500 global CEOs about out is providing leaders with a businesses to return to ‘normal’ First is the vaccine that is being
their response to the pandemic dose of optimism as they pre- as the prompt for businesses to rolled out….The second aspect
and the outlook over a three- pare for a new reality. CEOs are ask staff to return to the work- is that people are more used to
year horizon. A majority (55 per scenario planning for difference place. In India this number the Covid protocol….Third, at
cent) of CEOs are concerned across certain key markets that stands at 86 per cent. this point in time, one does not
about employees’ access to a could impact their operations, In contrast, 69 per cent of foresee a lockdown like the one
Covid-19 vaccine, which is in- supply chains, and people, lead- CEOs surveyed globally in Au- we saw last year,” he said at the
fluencing their outlook of when ing to uneven economic recov- gust 2020 said they planned to Times Network India Economic
employees will return to the ery.” reduce their office space over Conclave, while sticking to the
workplace. Nine out of 10 leaders glob- three years, which demonstrates 10.5% growth projection for the
A significant majority (90 ally (90 per cent) intend to that either office downsizings next financial year.
per cent) of CEOs are consider- ask their employees to report have taken place or, as the pan- Das said Indian payment
ing asking employees to report when they have been vaccinat- demic has drawn on, strategies networks — Unified Payments
when they have been vaccinat- ed in order to protect the wider have changed. This number Interface (UPI) and Real
ed, which may help organiza- workforce. In India, 94 per cent stood at 48 per cent in India in Time Gross Settlement System
tions consider measures to pro- CEOs intend to do so. 2020. (RTGS) — have the potential
tect their workforce. However, Majority of CEOs globally CEOs are considering what to go global. UPI could be “a
one-third (34 per cent) of global will wait for more than 50 per the new reality will look like, but cheaper and faster alternative
executives are worried about cent of population to be vacci- post-Covid, only three in 10 (30 to available means for multilat-
misinformation on Covid-19 nated before returning to the per cent) of global executives as eral cross-border payments….
vaccine safety and the poten- office. In India, this number compared to 32 per cent Indian our RTGS also has multicur-
tial this may have on employees stood at 76 per cent. executives are considering a hy- rency capabilities and with 24x7
choosing not to have it admin- A total of 66 per cent CEOs brid model of working for their operations now, there is a scope
istered. in India as opposed to 74 per staff, where most employees to explore whether its footprint
“Before any major decisions cent CEOs globally felt the work remotely two to three days could be expanded beyond In-
are made, CEOs want to be pandemic has accelerated the a week. dia.”

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