Harsh Neotia- Leader with diverse business interests

Economic meltdown in 2020 was a by-product of COVID 19 pandemic globally and India is no exception. National lockdown in India brought an economic slump, slowing down the economy as a whole, coupled with job loss, closure of manufacturing units and humanitarian crisis.

However, after a prolonged slump, the economy started showing signs of recovery post unlock 1.0. COVID-19 restrictions have started to ease since June 2020 in various phases, allowing eco-nomic activity to resume.

Bhagirathi Neotia Woman & Child Care Centre

People started rushing to save their jobs and businesses, knowing well that the pandemic is here to stay. They realized if pandemic would not take their lives, livelihood and economic crisis would surely do so.

With COVID19 vaccine almost round the corner, when we look forward to a robust econ-omy with a growing job market, booming retail sector and rising economic graph, let us hear what Bengal’s business tycoons and industrialists have to say.

Harshvardhan Neotia, under whose leadership Ambuja Neotia group has flourished, with diverse business interests in real estate, hospitals, education sector and hospitality industry, said, “We are considering 2021 as a year of hope and betterment. I think 2021 will be better though 2020 was a very difficult year with people mostly staying indoors largely. If people cannot commute, consumption gets automatically affected. Now people have started coming out and fear has become less. When the vaccine is out in the market, I believe the restrictions will slowly be lifted and we can expect the business will slowly normalize, so will lives of people.”

Harshvardhan Neotia, under whose leadership Ambuja Neotia group has flourished, with diverse business interests in real estate, hospitals, education sector and hospitality industry, said, “We are considering 2021 as a year of hope and betterment.

Ambuja Neotia, one of the most diverse business groups, headquartered in Kolkata, has business in real estate, hospitality, healthcare, education and Start-up incubation. There are landmark pro-jects in and around Kolkata including Udayan, Kolkata’s first Condoville set up in the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

Neotec Hub, Kolkata

“In 2020, real estate, hospitality and healthcare businesses ---- these three segments were mostly affected. I feel the healthcare sector is showing signs of little revival. There is some movement in the real estate sector also. But it will definitely take time. Hospitality industry will take time to revive as people are not coming to Kolkata from abroad with restrictions on flights,” Neotia said.

Neotia said. The group ventured into healthcare, specializing for woman and child healthcare, and have set up Bhagirathi Neotia Woman and Child Care Centre in Kolkata. Neotia Getwel Healthcare Centre, a multi-specialty hospital in Siliguri, has served the people well in North Bengal.

The group ventured into healthcare, specializing for woman and child healthcare, and have set up Bhagirathi Neotia Woman and Child Care Centre in Kolkata. Neotia Getwel Healthcare Centre, a multi-specialty hospital in Siliguri, has served the people well in North Bengal.

The Neotia University

“I expect healthcare, real estate and education sectors have started looking up. There are already signs of movement. However, the hospitality industry was mostly under pressure. Education sector was not affected as such like other sectors because classes were running online. The students had some predicaments as the classes had completely gone virtual but otherwise it was almost fine,” he elaborated. Venturing into the education sector, the group has formed the Neotia Uni-versity in 2015.

The group diversified Ambuja cement to several other sectors. Uttorayon, known to be Neotia group’s first township project in Siliguri, drew attention. Ambuja Neotia came up with an innovative first commercial project Ecospace in Rajarhat which is a Green Building certified by LEED. The group has formed Startup India, an initiative with the government of India, Ambuja Neotia has set up Neotec Hub, an incubation centre providing guidance for entrepreneurs.