Online Class discussion on Agri Supply Chains ..

Yesterday had a 60 minutes case discussion last night using a web collaboration tool. The case discussion  did not happen inside the classroom. It was a country wide classroom case discussion. The participants spanned across the country from Meghalaya to Maharashtra and Punjab to Kerala.

The participants were my students spread across India from Meghalaya to Mumbai, Delhi to Truvandrum on the, Agricultural supply chain challenges across the country and beyond,  during these Covid times.. 

The discussions started on a sober note at 8 pm. We had a bit of pandemonium in between with about 23 students attending the discussion. The main purpose of the discussion was to sensitize the student community on the challenges faced by the agricultural supply chains across the country during these Covid times ..

While some students were of the view that the all important agri supply chains in the country were operating without any stresses, others were of the view that there were challenges. The supplies were actually depleting the safety stocks to supply to organized retail chains like Reliance Fresh (Ambani), Star bazar (Tatas) and More supermarkets (Birlas) and others. 

Only these stores are open these days helping the common man. Mom and pop corner stores, frequently run out of stock as replenishments are not reliable because of the transportation lock down. Organized retail accounts for just 10% of India's total retail trade of $60 billion.

In Andhra, the govt has ensured that there are shops selling provisions and vegetables every 2 km distance across the state.

In North East which has not yet seen a Corona death, situation is more relaxed, though they are taking precautions, practicing social distancing and self quarantine for foreign travelers..

Also in remote Jharkhand or Assam, the situation is same, tense yet relaxed. In Assam, except for rice, dal and aloo, other estables are really difficult to procure and stock. Police are trying their level best to avoid prople crowding at public places, malls, supermarkets etc ..

Really, this is a great case study in effective leadership.  Kerala public never thought Pinarayi would emerge as a good leader even surpassing Modi in arranging fast  effective responses, motivating lakhs of volunteers across the state irrespective of party affiliations.. 👍👍👍 

George