Today, the whole world has come to an unprecedented halt. We are co-living with our least necessities, which was never imagined earlier. Air and Railways traffic have decelerated to a zero motion. Roads are deserted. We are missing the whistle blow sounds of Traffic Police and for the first time in the history of human’s civilisation we are restricted to our homes.
Nowadays big shopping malls and crowded markets have become a past story. Normal human activities are now trapped within four walls of our sweet homes. Factories will be opened once the situations become normal. Restaurants are only meant for home delivery and pickup delivery services. There is a constant fear of layoff in coming time and employees working in the private sectors are in great stress.
All educational institutions are closed down for an indefinite period. They are pondering for promotion of all students to the next class on the basis of their previous record.
Bread earners have been staying at home for a long time but there are no welcome gestures for them.
The Yamuna, one of the polluted rivers of India, has become unusually clean. Dhauladhar range of Himalayan Mountains is now clearly visible from Saharanpur which is 200 kilometers far away. Junglee cheetals are now wandering on busy roads of town. The man-made ozone hole over the Arctic is now completely diminished. The morning chirping sounds of little birds can be soothing to our ears and minds. The ecosystem is getting resilient back in pristine form.
The judicial remedies have now become daydream as court premises are closed. The criminal activities have stopped to a surprisingly low level. Jails are being constantly reviewed by government panels, to make it less congested, by considering release of convicts and undertrials on parole, as per the order of Apex court.
A big thanks to COVID-19 pandemic, which has tremendously changed the landscape of human behaviour, ethics and response. Corona, Lockdown, Social distancing, Hand wash and Hygiene, Sanitization has become new buzz words. A national lockdown/emergency is declared without any war. The COVID-19 is said to be the most contagious flu and human beings have become carriers of the same.
One silent invention is influencing every moment of humans’ personal and social life. Digital Technologies are assisting us in fighting with Corona pandemic. The corporate deliberations are now remotely hosted across the globe by using various video meeting applications e.g. Zoom, Webex, Google Meet, Skype etc. and these are just a few names. Live webinars, online judicial proceedings are now acceptable practice. These apps have a number of features including chat, powerpoint presentation, meeting recording facilities etc. After the end of the Corona era, the digital way of online meetings will be definitely continued for a long period of time.
General mass is sticking to the television sets at their home. All multiplex and movie theatres are closed due to corona lock down. Cinema lovers are enjoying new movies at home as the same are being released on video streaming platforms, like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, Hotstar etc.
Universities, schools are organising online classes to cater the learning needs of their students. These institutions are completing syllabus through online classes. They have submissions for conducting exams with the help of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) tools. The new online pedagogy methods are filling the gap left by shut down of educational premises. Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and so many digital social sites are available to disseminate all information in real time.
Family members are within reach, all the time, by using Smartphones. Doctors are prescribing medicines and therapies online. Trainers are uploading their videos to YouTube, Instagram for the benefit of learners.All essential items including milks, vegetables, medicines are getting directly delivered to door step through phone calls and by e-commerce sites like Amazon, Flipkart, Big Basket etc.
Ministries and corporate bodies are organising meetings through online video meeting applications. It is the first time that digital methods are becoming very popular and have become an integral part of every kind of transaction in today’s contemporary world.
Covid-19 crisis has provided an opportunity to India’s largest IT Firm TCS to throw its 20 years old operating model and its 75 percent workforce will work from home by 2025.
Cashless digital payments platforms are reaching its popularity to new heights. China’s national bank PBOC (People Bank of China) is already going to start a pilot program of digital currency that is digital Yuan in 4 cities. Residents of these four cities will be able to convert their cash into digital currency. A new era of contactless-payments will be bound to be coming very soon.
The Aarogya Setu is a tracking app, developed by the National Informatics Centre under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. In this App, the health data of every individual is fed by the user himself. This digital application forms a user database to create a network of information that can alert citizens and the government of potential victims of the corona virus by using Bluetooth and GPS signals of the smart phones and preventive measures can be taken accordingly.
Various labs across the world are collaborating for the development of effective, cheap vaccines. The vaccine will be the only and final call for Corona Pandemic. The global synergy among major drugs companies will definitely translate into earlier success in developing Corona Vaccine.
Although we are living in a digital technology era and life without it unimaginable. Covid-19 situation in the world is bringing the importance of digital technology to a new level. Digital Technology is a boon at the time, when we are staying at home, due to lockdown and have to follow social distancing conditions strictly. It also prevents further spread of Covid-19 infections by dissemination of information systems. We are fighting with Corona pandemic in a digital way.
Author of the article
– Dinesh Kumar
The Author is a Manager in Steel Authority of India Limited.
Very nice and meticulous observations of current situation.
Thank you to Mr Dinesh Kumar. To give the public a new way of thinking. Otherwise, till now we were seeing only mistakes and problems. Ye sach h k duniya ya insan par aaya koi sankat use bhot saari nayi sikh de kar jata h. aapka article padhne k bad aisa laga k duniya ne bhi digital upkarno se is Ye sach h k duniya ya insan par aaya koi sankat use bhot saari nayi sikh de kar jata h. aapka article padhne k bad aisa laga k duniya ne bhi digital upkarno se.It is true that any crisis that has come upon the world or man goes on giving him a lot of new lessons. After reading your article, it seemed that the world too made use of digital devices.Crisis on the world, but the world faced it and it became easier with digital devices.
Thank you Mr. Dinesh Kumar.
To teaching us a new aspect of digital devices.