BusinessBecause asked members in the know what their experience of the blackouts was, and how it might have affected businesses – if at all. Their opinions were surprisingly varied, with some thinking that the effect of the blackouts was far more limited than had been feared.
Anish Jain thinks the effect of the blackout was limited, but that small businesses might have struggled.
I don’t think the recent blackout in India due to power grid failure has impacted much on businesses, because most businesses (in fact all) have back-up sources in the form of Gensets and UPS installed for business functions.
I have not seen any offices closed due to the power failure. However, it might be different for small businesses: I am sure those guys must have been impacted, because they generally don’t maintain power back-ups.
Amit Kumar found himself personally affected by the blackouts, but thinks that it might not be such a bad thing for India to be forced into action on its growing need for power.
Blackouts have definitely affected everyone, including me. I was travelling when one happened, and my train got delayed by almost fivehours. This kind of trouble significantly affected the ‘common man’, most of whom are reliant on public transport. In one Indian state, a holiday had to be declared as people could not commute to their offices.
As far as business is concerned, the blackouts would have affected production, as well as business sentiments. Two blackouts within two days will have dampened the spirits of industrialists. However, as people say, every cloud has a silver lining too. These blackouts will force the government to think about and act on the current power situation in India. We are facing a huge gap between supply and demand, and the plans to build power plants seem to be failing for some reason. This needs to be sorted out .
Jasneet Juneja, who has been working in the USA for the last two months, says that whilst the blackouts caused some minor difficulties, there will be no long-term consequences for businesses.
In my opinion, the blackouts did not affect the nation to any great extent. There might have been few losses to businesses in India that are heavily dependent on electricity – such as heavy industries, factories, refineries, etc. – but the blue chip companies (IT & BPO companies) would not have been impacted. Companies such as TCS (where I work) , Infosys, and Wipro have business continuity plans that can cope up with adverse conditions such as blackouts, and also natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes.
The public services sector might have been effected by the blackout. The government-run Indian Railways did come to a halt and that effected the people travelling through rail. Nonetheless, the middle class section of the society - the common man who might be working in Corporates or MNCs – were not affected.
Our conclusions?
As a growing economy, India is becoming increasingly power hungry – but it seems that most businesses were able to deal with the blackouts quickly and efficiently. Generally speaking, the blackouts were irritating, but not catastrophic, as generators kicked into action to make up the deficit. The hope is that India will now realise the urgency of providing more power for their people, to maintain competitiveness and realise its full business potential.
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