| |November, 20219LONG-TERM ENERGY POLICY:New research and innovation that would drive the trends in the long term perspective can be categorized into two kinds ­ Those that help us build low-car-bon world that aims to reach an ide-al state of manufacturing which are carbon-free. Those that help us build a car-bon-neutral world that aims to main-tain carbon equilibrium in the living ecosystem through carbon capture, carbon storage and carbon recycle technologies.The policy makers should loose no further time in setting a clear course in determining the future direction as listed above.SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGESA calibrated call rather than'sudden stops' is required to lower India's huge import dependence on China, the coun-try's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) had said in a research report. In terms of numbers, India's dependence on China is the heaviest in low-value imports that comes at a time when India is looking to address the trade imbalance with its biggest trading partner amidst a prolonged and bloody border standoff.China accounts for 18 percent of India's imports and only 9 percent ex-ports. The bilateral trade amounted to $103.5 billion in the April 2019-Febru-ary 2020 period.The uncertainty in global tariff war coupled with protectionist measures is compounding the existing over de-pendence on Chinese imports for an infrastructure starved India. Solar panels will no longer be cheap initial-ly if locally manufactured, but just like the success of our thermal power plant manufacturing capability, will over a period of time become competitive.The corridors of power should have the political will to ensure all consum-ers pay a fair tariff for energy.Amidst weak domestic demand, Indian Steel Mills are thriving for new pastures by becoming more compet-itive. Indian finished Steel exports is expected to surge by 50 percent this fiscal with Indian Steel Mills becoming more cost competitive.The present pandemic has posed unique challenges to supply chain amidst disruptions on account of lock-downs and curfews. Businesses are adapting to work with reduced work force due to migration of labour cou-pled with various safety and health re-lated restrictions.HUMAN RESOURCES -TECHNOLOGY INTERFACE The next few years will see a steady adoption of digitalization and artifi-cial intelligence that will transform the workplace, similar to the adoption of lifestyle changes we have seen with the advent of smart phones as people increasingly interact with smarter machines. While some of us may not accept these as possibility in our work lives, it is unknowingly embracing our personal lives already. Collision be-tween AI-driven and traditional firms are happening across industries and it's hard to think of a business that isn't facing the pressing need to digitalise its operating model and respond to the emergence of technology.Whilst, Industry 4.0 is expected to bring in speed and reliability, chal-lenges in human resources is a concern which needs to be addressed swiftly.Organizations have to focus on the realities of shifting skill needs by a multipronged approach: Mindset Shift: Instilling a culture of life-long learning and providing training opportunities for employees and addressing fearsCollaborative Replaces Hierar-chy: Agile corporate structures featur-ing less hierarchy and more collabora-tive team networksNew Collar Jobs: Activities will be reallocated between workers with dif-ferent skill levels, creating a new set of middle-skill positions who will work along with the traditional brick and mortarAligned Leadership: Senior lead-ership and key functions will also need to align their strategies to orchestrate the changesWe're moving from an era of indus-try specific core competencies to an era shaped by data and analytics and pow-ered by algorithms hosted in the cloud for anyone to use. Block chain technol-ogy offers new tools for authentication and authorisation that precludes the need for many centralised administra-tors. This will revolutionise the way Logistics, Healthcare, Retail, Legal, Energy and Government transactions are carried out bringing in trust and transparency.To summarise, the pandemic is an opportunity to accelerate the thought process towards a meaningful change .Industry has to work with a singu-lar goal of improving efficiency and not carry the burden of decades of bureaucracy and lack of decisive-ness if we have to be competitive and internationally accepted. The year as many a pessimist would write off, should be viewed as a launching pad for course correction leading to India becoming self-reliant and competitive. Rashid Hashim
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