With the fear and ambush of Covid-19 surrounding our minds, reopening of the industries with an aim
of reviving the decelerating economy has put forth numerous challenges in front of the firms’ owners.
The authorities taking such measures of positioning the economy back on the revival track might prove to be a stressful situation for the small business owners occupied in varying sectors. The authorities with placing their rules and regulations on how to operate businesses in the ‘New Normal’ have somehow not done a great job.
The Indian service sector contributing more than 50% to the Gross Value Added (GVA) showed a
decline in the financial year 2019-20 due to low consumer demand. Further, with Covid-19 being
declared as a pandemic resulting in a complete lockdown shook the revival prospects of the service
industry as whole. The service industry ranges from banking services to telecommunication and the
sub-service sector comprising of the social and personal services.
Focusing on the sub-service sector existing in India which encompasses amenities ranging from salon
services, public amenities to the laundry services ,operating their businesses and providing the products with maximum sanitization has been a major hurdle. Being a daughter of a businessman operating in the field of dry-cleaning and laundry services I could more than understand how difficult the situations might be for other such business owners. With the lockdown 4.0 currently being in action allowing such businesses to resume services, has not done justice in providing a unified rule book for the businessmen.
The ambiguity in the rules and the variations being laid down without proper clarifications has been the hurdle which scares such owners in adapting to ‘new normal’. Pertaining to the procedures to be followed while resuming the services the central government has given full authority to each state to devise its own measures to combat the problems of the covid-19 business environment. With each state being responsible for its own operations the services having national presence have faced problems in maintaining a stable working environment in all its outlets.
For instance, the Delhi Government have allowed the centrally airconditioned stores to operate while
in some states operating air conditioners might attract penalties. Similarly, the authorities stating high
penalties for some actions like opening the wrong shop on the wrong day as per the odd even system
has also created a sense of fear among the businessmen. In situations like these it’s the government
which should act as a helping hand to enable businesses grow and resume services rather than create a
hoax of the situation. Furthermore, the freedom has been given to the ‘vyapar mandals’ or the business
associations to devise their action plans and convey it to the authorities for their approval but, here as
well the lack of communication among the members of such associations have only added to the existing confusion. Other than the regulatory issues, the businesses will require more time to adapt to the changes which the business era is demanding for. Coming back to the laundry firms, sanitization means extra variable and fixed costs being incurred to provide the safe and healthy services to the customers.
Providing for such expenses like that incurred on operating machines separately for each and every
customer, investment in laundry disinfectants, delayed deliveries and maintaining proper sanitization
facilities for the customers and the employees will make the business profitability questionable. Other
such services like the salon and spa will also be forced to incur such high costs in the under the
conditions of low demand.
The problem with coping with the financial stress in not only pertained to high additional costs but also low consumer incentive which might exist for a long term as per the current market scenario. The low consumer demand for such personal services might affect the liquidity and employability of such
sectors. The financial challenges seems to be one of the key concerns of such services.
The questions that arise out the existing hurdles are firstly, how will the government provide for such
discrepancies in regulations? Secondly, what are the means to improve the communications and bring
about an efficiency in the flow of information? Thirdly, is the decentralization of authority an efficient
mechanism to deal with the ‘New Normal’ and lastly and key question is will the businesses be able to
fight the financial and health challenges being faced by them.
The answers to above listed questions can only be observed once these events unfurl and the businesses operates for some time, as only then we can find some conclusions to the challenges. The survival of the personal services industries will solely depend on how efficient the businesses are in their adaptability to such norms. Additionally, the way governments assume authority in maintaining a
proper flow of information about the norms and regulations, will act as a deciding factor for the future
of such services in the Indian services sector.
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