Coronavirus will impact India's economic growth "severely", as the COVID-19 lockdown is causing significant disruption across multiple sectors, including manufacturing, oil and finance, among others, says a report.

On India's economic growth, Singh said, "given the 21-day lockdown in India, India's GDP growth is expected to moderate further from our earlier estimate of 5 percent for FY20.

As per the report, lockdowns and restrictions on commercial activities and people gatherings are likely to strongly impact global and domestic growth from March 2020 onwards.

Singh further said accurate quantitative estimation of economic growth will vary and has a high probability of being revised as the severity and prevalence of the outbreak remains uncertain.

D&B expects the CPI inflation to remain in the range of 6.5-6.7 percent and WPI inflation in the range of 2.35-2.5 percent during March 2020. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1585213211.9372466/Coronavirus-to-impact-India's-economic-growth-"severely":-D&B?ref=audio_experience

If you are young then you can probably bounce back quickly from these busts as you have years ahead of you to make adjustments.

Every type of market has its own strategy, so make sure you are not trying one method across the board.

If you are just starting out your education, invest in it in the right way.

One way is to buy property to rent.

Having a rental property is not exactly passive, but it can be something that brings in a good side income. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1585211408.0190544/How-To-Survive-And-Thrive-In-The-New-Economy---Young-Upstarts?ref=audio_experience

Reported supply chain skirmishes can lead to not just businesses accruing losses, but citizens going without essential supplies like vegetables, rice, pulses, milk, and cooking oil.

The first order of business is to get State governments to define what exactly constitute ‘essential food items’ and let their products be supplied to retailers accordingly.

Ambiguity in the definition of essential food items has rendered some doubt around packaged foods.

The consortium lists some of the key challenges startups and SMEs in the F&B space are facing due to the lockdown:1.

Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla held a detailed meeting on Wednesday with DPIIT, traders and ecommerce firms on smooth supply of essential goods in the country. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1585209605.1219332/Coronavirus-lockdown:-Consortium-of-F&B-SMEs-puts-forth-supply-chain-grievances-for-essential-commodities?ref=audio_experience

Commenting on this phenomenon, Vivek Wadhwa, entrepreneur and distinguished fellow, Harvard Law School, Labor and Worklife Program told Inc42, “If you look at how Bitcoin has fallen again, you can see that it isn’t the safe harbour that its hypesters had claimed.

Invest In UPI, Not Bitcoin: WadhwaCommenting on the regulatory confusion over cryptocurrencies in India, Wadhwa said,If I could advise the government on this, I would call for a ban Bitcoin and its kin.

However, accepting the fact that digital currency is the future and need-of-the-hour, Wadhwa added that India’s Unified payments Interface (UPI) technologies are the most advanced in the world.

He said the government must invest more in UPI payments and other digital payments and encourage people to move to this, rather than crypto.

So a move to digital currency is imperative, Wadhwa added. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1585207806.1207626/Why-Use-Bitcoin,-When-We-Have-UPI,-Asks-Entrepreneur-Vivek-Wadhwa?ref=audio_experience

Companies having co-living and rental spaces across cities are offering it to the government to convert it into a quarantine facility if needed.

Shared living company, Stanza living , which has a inventory of new residences across 10 cities said that it is prepared to support the local authorities and government and earmark these spaces for quarantine purposes.“There have been reports about people being asked to vacate their hostels/PGs, especially in cities including Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune.

We have been supporting those who are stranded, by offering accommodation at our residences with immediate effect,” said a company spokesperson.All those who are currently staying back at a Stanza living residences, are being taken care of by ground-operations team.Home rental network, Nestaway Technologies , has kept upto $1 million in waived fees and service charges for new tenants moving to its homes during the novel coronavirus crisis.“As cities after cities are going through near lock-down, the company intends to offer its inventory 6000+ full houses and 4500+ private rooms across 19 cities in India to tenants private rooms across 19 cities in India to tenants - especially young professionals staying in PGs at preferential rates and under special terms until things return to normal,” said a company spokesperson. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1585206005.1193416/Shared-living-companies-offer-quarantine-space?ref=audio_experience

The need for blockchain technology in the healthcare industry has become more evident than ever.

The government, techies and entrepreneurs across the country are now looking at leveraging blockchain technology in the healthcare industry to help solve the spread of the virus.

Since the blockchain technology is synonymous with security, transparency and decentralisation, the implementation of this technology in managing the healthcare system could be a game-changer.

Japan To Regulate Blockchain Gaming PlatformTokyo-based Blockchain Contents Association (BCA) is coming up with alternative ways to regulate illegal activities in the gaming community.

Through this collaboration, the game developers will integrate Forte’s blockchain platform into one of its games, thereby enabling new benefits for developers as well as player communities. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1585204205.8229005/Blockchain-This-Week:-How-Blockchain-Can-Help-Healthcare-Tackle-Covid-19-&-More?ref=audio_experience

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has set up a control room to monitor in real-time the status of transportation and delivery of essential commodities amid the coronavirus lockdown in the country.

It will also monitor difficulties being faced by various stakeholders during the lockdown period from March 25 to April 14.

The issues reported by various stakeholders through this control room would be taken up with the concerned State government, district, police authorities, and other agencies.

It has urged all "stakeholders, industry associations to report the issues affecting the industry, trade, especially the ground level issues on this control room."

Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla held a detailed meeting on Wednesday with DPIIT, traders and ecommerce firms on smooth supply of essential goods in the country. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1585202406.3857214/Coronavirus:-DPIIT-to-monitor-real-time-status-of-transport,-delivery-of-essential-commodities?ref=audio_experience

He was previously the founder and CEO of Behance, a platform to showcase and discover creative work (acquired by Adobe in 2012).

“The middle contains all the discoveries that build your capacity,” Scott writes, describing the endless surprises and disappointments in the middle phases.

EnduranceThe author shares a number of anecdotes and tips on enduring the hard knocks of a creative journey.

Art, science, and business play different roles in the creative journey.

The Finish LineThe book ends with some intriguing insights on what happens at the end of the creative journey, after the messy middle. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1585200605.4897153/The-Messy-Middle:-How-endurance-and-optimisation-are-key-for-success-in-the-long-run?ref=audio_experience

Taking to Twitter, Founder Deepinder Goyal also announced that the company had collected Rs 1.5 crore within 17 hours of launching the initiative.

According to the official statement, under the ‘Feed the Daily Wager’ initiative, Zomato will be providing food support to the daily wage earner communities during this time of distress.

For this, we will need a total fund support of Rs 25 crore from donors,” the official statement said.

One can choose to donate an amount of Rs 500, Rs 1,500 or Rs 2,500 to support up to five families.

This is a 100 percent not-for-profit campaign,” the Zomato statement said. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1585198806.395853/Coronavirus:-Zomato’s-‘Feed-the-Daily-Wager’-initiative-collects-Rs-1.5-Cr-in-17-hours?ref=audio_experience

Uber doesn’t have to pay salaries for drivers with little or nothing to do.

But executives from both companies have focused on drivers and hosts when working the phones to secure some government relief.

“The company has been pushing for a third way for seven years,” said Lane Kasselman, a former Uber executive who advises startups.

Uber has however said it will compensate drivers who suffer from coronavirus.Uber’s turn towards driver advocacy hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Uber has spent so much time and money fighting reclassification,” ” said Bradley Tusk, a startup advisor who previously worked with Uber but sold his shares. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1585197004.5368729/Uber-and-Airbnb-lobby-for-gig-worker-bailout?ref=audio_experience