Hoping for a Better Tomorrow
Multiplex chains and theatre owners are expecting a swift recovery once they are allowed to open shops. They also have reasons to believe so, as a host of Bollywood producers are itching for the theatrical release of their projects.
In 2021, as many as 15 big movies are waiting to be released.
Akshay Kumar's ‘Bell Bottom’ is set to take the lead. The movie is slated to release on July 27, being the first major Bollywood project coming out post-pandemic. Producers are expecting ‘Bell Bottom’ to create a similar impact as Vijay's ‘Master’ did post the first phase of lockdown.
Apart from that, Alia Bhatt-starrer ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’, Ranveer Singh's ‘83’, John Abraham's ‘Attack’, and Telugu multi-starrer ‘RRR’ are the other big movies set to hit the screen in 2021.
Sentiments among the producers are in stark contrast to last year, where they preferred to wait and watch. Last year, they were anxious about the public response. And this year, their anxiety is related to the increasing cost of production. They are in no position to suffer from cash burn anymore and want the release of the movies at the earliest.
Healthy Hiring Trends
IT industry body NASSCOM has declined the reports of layoffs happening across the IT industry. Instead, the body suggested that the IT sector hired 1.38 lakh new employees in FY21. It further added that the IT sector is set to become a USD 300-350 billion industry by 2025.
NASSCOM believes that the evolution of technology and increasing automation are the key drivers for the industry. It will require employees to evolve their skills, which offers employees plenty of new job opportunities and enough room to grow.
NASSCOM's comment has come in response to a recent report from Bank of America (BofA), which suggested that Indian IT outsourcing companies could see around 30 lakh job losses by 2022 due to robotic process automation upskilling.
Rising Cost of Vaccination
The Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) KV Subramanian has reiterated the government's commitment to achieving vaccination for all before the end of December.
He also sees the vaccination drive exceeding its allocated budget. The government has made a provision of Rs 35,000 crore to vaccinate the entire population. However, the CEA believes that there could be a further need of Rs 15,000 crore to fulfil the mission.
To achieve vaccination for all by the end of December, India would need to vaccinate 1 crore people in a day. The CEA believes that it is an ambitious target. However, it is not impossible if the vaccination program is carried out in three shifts each day.
