Editorial
Published on : Friday 01-01-2021
The year that was…
Nightmare. Chaotic. Relentless. Heartbreaking. Perseverance. Broken Dreams. A year of missing. Six feet apart, yet closer than ever. A television show that never knows when to end.
These are among the countless words and phrases used by the readers of The Washington Post in response to the invitation to describe the year gone by in just one word or phrase. One can add own personal experiences to these as each one has had a different experience as well as personal stories. Many have lost their loved ones, many more were quarantined or hospitalised. Then the stories of grit and determination – the girl who carried her ailing father on her bicycle from Gurugram to Bihar pedalling most of the 1200 km, braving the elements. The woman from Telangana who rode 1400 km on a Scooty to get her son back from the hostel. And the greatest exodus since Partition as millions, not only lost their livelihoods but were also forced to walk home across States, over long distances of several hundred kilometres, due to the unprecedented lockdown that effectively shut down all modes of mass transportation. Yet the human spirit remains unbroken, as everyone has stoically tried to adjust to the New Normal, which is here to stay.
For industry, technology cushioned the impact to various degrees depending on the type of enterprise and the level of adoption. A large segment of the service industry was in a much better position as it was easy to adjust to the Work From Home routine, but not so the manufacturing sector, where the impact was felt most as it is still labour intensive in the absence of large scale automation. But the economic consequences of job losses and lost production are all too obvious. Ten months later and still counting, the Lockdown still remains in various degrees, even after several rounds of relaxation. The lifeline of Mumbai, the local train, is still not open for all passengers to travel to work. Events and exhibitions are still confined to the virtual world. Schools remain closed. Higher educational institutions are only partially open. The uncertainty over examinations remains.
Taking all these things into stride, this edition of Industrial Automation features the customary Cover Story on trends that are likely to dominate the New Year 2021, where domain experts offer their views on what are the trends most likely to prevail in 2021 as the world is trying to come to grips with the Covid-19 pandemic. This is especially relevant as the lessons learned during the last 10 months are getting assimilated into all aspects of life – the New Normal – where technology has a very prominent role to play.
We at IED Communications – publishers of Industrial Automation and organisers of Automation Expo series of events – wish all our Readers, Advertisers, Exhibitors and Visitors a Very Happy & Prosperous New Year!
