5 Headlines This Week That Aren’t All Doom And Gloom
1. Kabhi Smirnoff Kabhi Sanitizer- Diageo India to Produce 3 Lakh Litres of Sanitizer
To cope with the acute shortage of alcohol-based hand sanitizers, Diageo India announced plans to re-purpose plants to produce hand sanitizer and pledged to donate its stock of 5 lakh litres of ENA or Extra Neutral Alcohol towards this effort. Additionally, Diageo will also donate 150,000 masks to public health departments across 5 states. It also announced a Rs. 3 Crore health insurance package for bartenders associated with the company as brand ambassadors. Read more here
2. Lodha Lightens Its Tenants’ Load
At the forefront of corporate India’s relief efforts, the Lodha Group announced a full waiver of retail rentals, beginning 15th March, until the government allows retail operations to resume. It further stated that maintenance fees would be reduced to actuals during this period. This move is aimed at softening the blow to India’s retail sector during summer vacations, which usually sees a boom in sales. Read more here.
3. Zomato Wants You To Have Your Cake And Bake It Too
Taking a cue from competitor Swiggy, Zomato plans to enter the lucrative grocery delivery industry. It is in talks with other delivery services such as Grofers and Big Basket to sell their food products and essentials, by piggybacking on its platform and facilitating deliveries with its delivery partners. The pilot is expected to go live in Delhi-NCR next week. Read more here.
4. Flipkart Bounces Back, Amazon Pantry To Follow Suit
Flipkart’s operations were temporarily suspended on Wednesday after the government announced a 21-day lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19. After receiving the government’s nod to resume its supply chain and delivery services, Flipkart continues to strengthen its position. This can be attributed to the Ecommerce industry experiencing a boom of sorts, thanks to consumers staying indoors due to self-quarantine and social distancing. Read more here.
5. Nature Comes Out To Play As The Rest Of Us Work From Home
Here’s some news that’ll make you smile. It started with fish being spotted in Venice’s canals for the first time in years and dolphins returning to the coast of Mumbai. Wildlife is gradually taking advantage of the falling levels of pollution and reduced interference from humans. With a rare spotted Malabar civet seen in Kerala for the first time since the 90s, 8 lakh Olive Ridley turtles gathering en-masse at Rushikulya beach to ‘nest in peace’ and more than 30 species of birds making a comeback to the NCR’s green spaces, nature is gradually coming out to play while we’re away. IRL Jumanji anyone?Read more here.
