The year 2020 will go down in history as the scale break between pre-covid and post-covid time. What unfolded as a health crisis has turned into a deep economic crisis, pulling the world into a recession. Uncertainties loom large and world over policymakers are striving to strike a balance between lives and livelihoods. India has been no exception.

Government of India has taken several supportive actions to mitigate economic losses, including 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' package and introduction of specific schemes to boost consumption and investment. RBI, on its part, has been taking regular measures to ensure liquidity support. The government has also ushered in significant reforms in areas such as agriculture, defence, space, mining and other sectors as well as labour laws.

The crisis has left deep imprints on the micro as well as macro dynamics of every economy. At the micro level, many organisations have already started looking at new ways of operations in wake of the New Normal, with digital adoption seeing a rapid rise. At the macro level too, policymakers will have to relook and re-design their strategies for future, keeping in view the changes in geo-political and geo-economic landscape. The covid-19 crisis has also opened several opportunities for India. These should be identified and leveraged for a better future.

Crisis of today is a learning to face-off challenges of tomorrow. Many of India's problems are not new, they probably need new solutions that are pragmatic yet futuristic. Responsible actions are desired from everyone – governments, industries, firms as well as individuals and collectively as a society to enable a better and sustainable future.

To contribute to the ongoing reforms agenda and create conditions for capitalising the potential opportunities, FICCI and KAS have brought together this compendium of essays. The eminent authors contributing to this publication have set an excellent framework that can contribute to the evolving strategic plan of action for India's growth and development. The essays provide several innovative suggestions covering a wide gamut of areas such as agriculture, manufacturing, financial services, digital economy, media and entertainment, healthcare, start-ups, as well as macro-policies and international diplomacy.