India can become the next supply chain manufacturing hub, provided it acts right now, stated David Ranz, US Consul General (Mumbai).
Speaking to an online audience at the IACC COVID Crusaders Awards 2020, Ranz said, “India has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to evolve into a supply chain manufacturing hub for the world, especially as foreign investment is leaving China and looking for a new home.”
Talking about the global changes in these times, Ranz had acknowledged how India moved swiftly in its need of the hour.
He added further, “The business community rallied in ways which we couldn't imagine in the first few weeks of the lockdown. American and Indian companies went through great lengths to ensure their employees were safe and had computers and other tools they needed to keep vital businesses like financial networks up and running.”
The awards ceremony aimed to acknowledge the humanitarian efforts made by the individuals, corporates and organisations, in a bid to provide relief and assistance globally, against the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kader Shaikh, a Gujarat-based businessman, was acknowledged for converting his 30,000 sq feet office into an 85-bed COVID care facility. On the other end, celebrity Chef Vikas Khanna received the honour for the Feed India campaign, which has delivered over 40 million meals so far.
The chosen Crusaders included bureaucrats who had done much as well — Iqbal Singh Chahal, Municipal Commissioner, BMC and Sylvester Turner, Mayor of Houston.
The list of awardees included NGOs Akshaya Patra, Goonj and Heifer International, companies like Godrej, Mahindra & Mahindra and Wallis Bank and MSMEs MyLab Discovery Solutions, Perennials and Sutherland LLC and Sevatec Inc.
