COVID-19, with all its turbulences has ushered a digital era, in the lives of most urbanites. Companies are operating with minimal manpower in the offices and the majority of the employees work from home with computers. The middle classes are buying everything online, to avoid visiting crowded markets. Classes are being conducted online for school and college students.

For the next two years till COVID-19 is harnessed, we will have to get used to operating substantial parts of our lives online. Laptops and computers will become the new pens and pencils of the digital era. Any person who wants to make a living will have to possess his own laptop, whether the company bestows it or not. Internet is the new umbilical cord of the world. Without it, a person will be marooned from society. Hence it may be useful for a person in a developing country like India, to have at least two internet providers, so that if one falters, there is a backup.

We will be conducting meetings and conferences with internet tools like Zoom and Google Teams. This will create the need for new electronic conference etiquette, like the apparel to be worn, the home office you should have, etc. Business is partly about appearances. Hence even if it is a conference call, business leaders expect team members to be smart and presentable.

The challenge in developing countries in Asia and Africa, will be to take the digital revolution to the villages. Rural areas contribute 60 to 70 per cent of the population of many countries. However, in many villages, the residents live around the poverty line per capita income of about two dollars per day. They find it difficult to buy three meals a day, leave aside a laptop.

Rajendra Aneja — Mumbai, India