A major outcome of COVID-19 is the likely shift in global supply chains away from China to other economies, said a latest survey.

Nearly 70 percent of the survey participants have said that India could benefit from this move and they expect a fair share of manufacturing to shift from China to India in the near future, added the FICCI-Dhruva Advisors Survey conducted in December 2020. 

The opening up of the economy and implementation of a broad set of measures under the Atmanirbhar Bharat package have led to a continuous improvement over time in the performance of businesses, the survey findings confirm this trend and show that members of India Inc are expecting even better results in 2021.

The prospect of an introduction of a vaccine for COVID-19 early next year has improved the confidence level of businesses. Almost 74 percent of the survey participants have said that they foresee a significant positive impact on their business once the vaccine is made available.

COVID-19 induced travel restrictions have limited the ability of companies to undertake business operations efficiently and 74 percent of the survey participants have validated this.

To overcome this challenge and maintain business operations, companies have leveraged digital tools for communication.

Given the benefits of use of technology, 64 percent of the surveyed companies have said that moving forward they will use a mix of travel and virtual meetings even after the situation becomes normal.

To capitalize on the opportunities that could come India's way, there is need to strengthen India's manufacturing ecosystem. Under the Atmanirbhar Bharat package, the Government has introduced several measures to address the immediate pain points of the economy as well as steps to improve India's manufacturing competitiveness.

These measures have been well received by the industry, with 45 percent of the companies rating the latest set of announcements made under Atmanirbhar Bharat package 3.0 as 'good to excellent', said the survey report.