The Future Of

India’s pandemic crisis of 2020 created human misery and economic havoc. However, out of this crisis came the rapid shift to digital and large-scale adoption of new technologies like AI to improve efficiencies and adapt to the circumstances created by lockdowns and social distancing. Customer service is one of the many areas where AI has come to the rescue at a time when call centers shut. However, besides helping cope with the pandemic-sparked challenges, the use of AI in customer service also helps improve customer experience, cuts a company’s customer service costs, and customer churn. Further, with internet penetration rising in India over 2020, multilingual voice AI appears to be the way for smart customer support. Given this exciting business landscape, the second dispatch of our special series, “Decoding AI opportunities in the Covid Age and beyond”, explores how AI has been changing the face of customer service in sectors like financial services, e-commerce and logistics.

India’s pandemic crisis of 2020 created human misery and economic havoc. However, out of this crisis came the rapid shift to digital and large-scale adoption of new technologies like AI to improve efficiencies and adapt to the circumstances created by lockdowns and social distancing. Customer service is one of the many areas where AI has come to the rescue at a time when call centers shut. However, besides helping cope with the pandemic-sparked challenges, the use of AI in customer service also helps improve customer experience, cuts a company’s customer service costs, and customer churn. Further, with internet penetration rising in India over 2020, multilingual voice AI appears to be the way for smart customer support. Given this exciting business landscape, the second dispatch of our special series, “Decoding AI opportunities in the Covid Age and beyond”, explores how AI has been changing the face of customer service in sectors like financial services, e-commerce and logistics.

If there is a bigger wake-up. call for women in the area of financial planning than the pandemic, one is yet to hear of it. The outbreak and the widespread monetary pain it has caused makes it critical for women—whether working professionals, older housewives, or young stay-at-home moms—to begin holistic financial planning. However, financial progress for women in India today is somewhat missing a key element-- engagement. The second dispatch of our special series “Financial Planning for Women” lays out why is it essential for women to take charge of their finances and what changes need to be brought about in the ecosystem to help them to do so. Catch Priti Rathi Gupta, founder LXME, MD AnandRathi Group; Radhika Gupta, MD & CEO, Edelweiss AMC; and Ameera Shah, MD, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd. in an insightful panel discussion.

If there is a bigger wake-up call for women in the area of financial planning than the pandemic, one is yet to hear of it. The outbreak and the widespread monetary pain it has caused makes it critical for women—whether working professionals, older housewives, or young stay-at-home moms—to begin holistic financial planning. However, financial progress for women in India today is somewhat missing a key element-- engagement. The second dispatch of our special series “Financial Planning for Women” lays out why is it essential for women to take charge of their finances and what changes need to be brought about in the ecosystem to help them to do so. Catch Priti Rathi Gupta, founder LXME, MD AnandRathi Group; Radhika Gupta, MD & CEO, Edelweiss AMC; and Ameera Shah, MD, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd. in an insightful panel discussion.

As we reopen our spaces, build back our economy and prepare for a more resilient future, we will have to transform our buildings, communities and cities into healthy and resilient spaces. Maintaining status quo won’t protect us from the current public health crisis or adequately prepare us for the next pandemic or climate event. While this sounds daunting, the pandemic has the potential to accelerate some positive trends that are already emerging in the real estate industry. The second dispatch of our special series “Future of Green Buildings” highlights leading strategies that the real estate industry is incorporating in their projects to build healthier in the new normal. Catch P. GopalaKrishnan, Managing Director, Southeast Asia and Middle East, Green Business Certification Inc., Shabbir Kanchawala, Senior Vice President, K. Raheja corp., Harleen Oberoi, Head Project Management, Tata Realty and Samhita Venkatesh, Founder & Director, Ela Green School in an insightful panel discussion.

As we reopen our spaces, build back our economy and prepare for a more resilient future, we will have to transform our buildings, communities and cities into healthy and resilient spaces. Maintaining status quo won’t protect us from the current public health crisis or adequately prepare us for the next pandemic or climate event. While this sounds daunting, the pandemic has the potential to accelerate some positive trends that are already emerging in the real estate industry. The second dispatch of our special series “Future of Green Buildings” highlights leading strategies that the real estate industry is incorporating in their projects to build healthier in the new normal. Catch P. GopalaKrishnan, Managing Director, Southeast Asia and Middle East, Green Business Certification Inc., Shabbir Kanchawala, Senior Vice President, K. Raheja corp., Harleen Oberoi, Head Project Management, Tata Realty and Samhita Venkatesh, Founder & Director, Ela Green School in an insightful panel discussion.

The path to recovery post-Covid crisis poses many challenges for CEOs as we now have been pushed into a world that is driven by change and this requires a very different leadership style. Smart, sustainable projects are the need of the hour for organizations to adapt to this ‘New Normal’, and CEOs have to step up as the ultimate project managers. In this latest dispatch of understanding the Future Of Leadership, we speak with Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, Global Champion of Project Management, Creator of the “Hierarchy of Purpose” concept featured by Harvard Business Review, Thinkers50 award winner “Ideas into Practice”, Author, Global Chairman of the Project Management Institute (2016) and is ranked #17 in the Global GurusTop 30 list. In a freewheeling chat, Antonio speaks about how leaders should adopt a different leadership style in a post-Covid world. Listen to this episode for more.

With the pandemic hitting both bottom and top-line growth for companies and social distancing becoming often a matter of life and death, the spotlight is on AI as a safe route for businesses and living one’s life insecure ways in the New Normal. As the pandemic brings digitization to far-flung corners of India, demand for multilingual customer support and AI solutions has shot up — both a way to ensure safe and efficient customer service in the Covid Era and beyond. Against this dramatic backdrop, the first dispatch of our series “Decoding the Future of AI in Covid Age” sees a discussion on how corporate leaders are using AI and how the pandemic could be a gamechanger for the future of AI. Mr. Sourabh Gupta, Founder and CEO of Vernacular AI, an AI-First SaaS business, joins Mr. Ratan Kumar Kesh, Executive VP and Head, Retail Operations and Services, Axis Bank for a chat. 

With the pandemic hitting both bottom and top-line growth for companies and social distancing becoming often a matter of life and death, the spotlight is on AI as a safe route for businesses and living one’s life insecure ways in the New Normal. As the pandemic brings digitization to far-flung corners of India, demand for multilingual customer support and AI solutions has shot up — both a way to ensure safe and efficient customer service in the Covid Era and beyond. Against this dramatic backdrop, the first dispatch of our series “Decoding the Future of AI in Covid Age” sees a discussion on how corporate leaders are using AI and how the pandemic could be a gamechanger for the future of AI. Mr. Sourabh Gupta, Founder and CEO of Vernacular AI, an AI-First SaaS business, joins Mr. Ratan Kumar Kesh, Executive VP and Head, Retail Operations and Services, Axis Bank for a chat. 

Recent climate change events, as well as increased focus on sustainability and healthy living fuelled by the pandemic, make Green Buildings a burning topic today. Greening our existing buildings will not only transform our spaces into healthy and resilient habitations but will help increase efficiency in the consumption of resources. All this while helping build back better our battered economy in a post-COVID world. In the first dispatch of our series “The Future of Green Buildings,” we explore the vast benefits of greening lakhs of existing buildings with P. GopalaKrishnan, Managing Director, Southeast Asia and Middle East, Green Business Certification Inc., Vinamra Srivastava, CEO Business Parks, Capitaland India, and Swapnil Joshi Industry 4.0 leader, Infosys.