Pandemic pain According to Birla, 2020 and the pandemic has reinforced the importance of the role that corporations play in societies at large. “In this new paradigm, the licence to operate has to be earned, and is underpinned by respect, credibility, and acceptability,” he wrote. The Aditya Birla Group chairman further shared examples of how small and large stakeholders worked in tandem through the pandemic. “This was manifest in several actions like allowing deferred payments to hard-hit value chain partners, honouring commitments on orders to maintain business continuity, and even investing ahead of revival in demand to kickstart economic activity,” wrote Birla.