2021, the year that was: 'Glocal' pandemic shocks, just as demand revived

The third of the year-ender series focuses on how Indian businesses suffered two global supply dislocations

The first year of the pandemic brought home the downside of globalisation as country after country went into lockdown and companies struggled to cope with crashing demand by paring costs every which way. The second year, 2021, offered an unexpectedly different perspective in terms of disrupted supply chains across the world just as demand started reviving. Three categories of businesses have been impacted by this global demand-driven dislocation: Exports, automobiles, and electronics.

For Indian exporters, FY22 has been a year of mixed feelings. Exports grew strongly for seven straight months, touching $369.39 billion in the April-to-October period, a tad away from