Travel, tourism, hospitality need government support: IT veteran

Travel, tourism, retail and Hospitality sectors are affected the most by the outbreak of the novel coronovirusand need financial support from the government, said information technology industry veteran S Gopalakrishan.

The co-founder of Infosys Ltd and former president of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said IT companies would also be hit by the COVID-19 scare but they are financially strong and need support of a different kind.

"IT industry requires support from logistics. For example, work from home requires infrastructure support, there are reports of disruptions because of power cuts, proper internet bandwidth is not available at home; so, that's what's required," he told PTI.

"The (IT) companies are financially very strong", said Gopalakrishnan, who had served as CEO and MD of Infosys from 2007 to 2011, adding, financial support would be required for people in travel, tourism, hospitality and retail sectors.

"Lots of people dependent on taxi service are facing the impact because people are not at present using taxis. So, these are the sectors that will require immediate support. Even footfalls at retail shops and movie theatres have come down. These are the places where financial support is required from the government," he said.

Gopalakrishnan said the IT industry is facing some disruption and there would be impact on their revenues.

IT companies need to look at ways to cut down expenses, he suggested.

Their clients being hit by the outbreak would have a ripple effect on the Indian IT industry. Take care of customers, provide business continuity and then work with customers, their budgets are going to be slashed, work with them to figure out how you can support these customers," he told IT companies.

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"What I have seen in the past is these long-term customers increase their spending with you, when things improve," Gopalakrishnan added.