India Today is the leading news magazine and most widely read publication in India. The magazine’s leadership is unquestioned, so much so that India Today is what Indian journalism is judged by, for its integrity and ability to bring unbiased and incisive perspective to arguably the most dynamic, yet perplexing, region in the world. Breaking news and shaping opinion, it is now a household name and the flagship brand of India’s leading multidimensional media group. Additionally, the weekly brings with it a range supplements like Women, Home, Aspire, Spice and Simply which focus on style, health, education, fashion, etc. and Indian cities.

FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

India Today

Presenting India Today Insight

THE GREAT DISRUPTOR • It took a tiny virus to bring the world to a grinding halt, changing life as we knew it. Covid-19 single-handedly turned 2020 into a year that never was

THE BIG LEAP BACKWARD • India is one of the worst-hit economies among global majors. The ordeal can become an opportunity, but only if there is a fundamental overhaul of business processes

THE COVID IMPACT • The protracted lockdown and the freezing of industrial activity hurt the economy badly, plunging the country into a recession, with two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth so far

ASHISH SIRSAT, 49 • Partner, Naik Oven Manufacturing Co., Mumbai

MITIGATING STRATEGIES • In May, the Centre announced a major stimulus to revive the MSME sector and support those at the bottom of the economic pyramid

A LIFE AND DEATH STRUGGLE • Grossly inadequate to begin with, India’s healthcare infrastructure was ill-prepared for a crisis of Covid’s magnitude. Yet, it rose to the challenge and made the best of limited resources

COVID’S SPREAD IN INDIA

HIBA HASAN, 25 Staff nurse, Apollo Hospital, Delhi

LESSONS FOR THE FUTURE

DISPLACED, DISTRESSED • The lockdown hit some 200 million migrant workers the hardest, pushing them into unemployment and a long journey back home

MADHURESH KUMAR SINGH, 35 • Auto-rickshaw driver, Mumbai

WHAT MIGRANTS NEED

WHY THEY MOVE

THE NEW WORK ORDER • Organisations have had to rethink and restrategise to ride out the pandemic and prepare for a new era of working

THE CHANGES

The two sides of WFH K.L. NARASIMHAN, 53 • Senior Manager, regulatory affairs India and South Asia, Wipro GE Healthcare Pvt Ltd

SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS • The Covid-induced lockdown ravaged the education system with schools closing down and online learning nowhere near effective

DO THE MATH

“We had to change the exam system to suit the online mode”

THE EVERYDAY APOCALYPSE • Social confinement spurred a new way of living. Suddenly, home was where you both worked and played and technology became our bridge to the world outside

PRIYANSHI KAPOOR, 40 Homemaker, New Delhi

LOCKDOWN LEARNINGS

WIN SOME, LOSE SOME • Even as pandemic and the lockdown wreaked havoc on film theatres, OTT platforms proved a boon for both actors and audiences

SHREYA DHANWANTHARY, 32 Actress

FIRM AND RESOLUTE NARENDRA MODI, 70 By RAJ CHENGAPPA • The Indian prime minister ably steered the country through the unprecedented health and economic challenge of the Covid pandemic, while grappling with Chinese aggression on the LAC

BIHARI BABU NO. I NITISH KUMAR, 69 • Chief minister for a record seventh time, Bihar’s ‘sushasan babu’ is looking to cement his legacy

IN THE HOT SEAT NIRMALA SITHARAMAN, 61 • Despite the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan stimulus, the challenge of reviving the economy is still daunting

MUMBAI METEOR SUSHANT SINGH RAJPUT, 34 • The actor’s death opened a Pandora’s box for the film industry, which has since been viciously attacked...