IT industry body, NITES, has submitted an official representation to the Ministry of Labour and Employment, seeking issuance of an advisory directing mandatory
“Work From Home”. The body said that the WFH request was sent for the IT/ITES sector, wherever operationally feasible. It added that the demand is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent appeal regarding fuel conservation and the reduction of unnecessary travel. According to the letter accessed by ET Now, it states that the Indian IT sector has both the infrastructure and capability to support national priorities through remote working. Meanwhile, on Sunday, during his address at a Telangana BJP rally in Hyderabad, PM Modi highlighted how habits developed during the Covid-19 pandemic can once again help the country save fuel and foreign exchange. "During the Corona period, we developed many systems of work from home, online meetings, and video conferences, and we even became accustomed to them. Today, the demands of the times are such that if we restart these systems, it will be in the national interest. We must prioritise work from home, online conferences, and virtual meetings again," he said. "In this time of global crisis, we have to make a resolution keeping duty paramount and fulfil it with complete dedication. A big resolution is to use petrol and diesel sparingly. We must curb our use of petrol and diesel. In cities with metro lines, we should decide to travel by metro only. If we must use a car, then we should try to carpool... People with electric vehicles should try to use them as much as possible," he added. PM also requested citizens to avoid foreign trips during the crisis period. He said, "We must also place a strong emphasis on saving foreign exchange, as petrol and diesel have become so expensive globally... It is our responsibility to save the foreign currency spent on purchasing petrol and diesel... The growing culture of weddings abroad, travelling abroad, and vacationing abroad is becoming prevalent among the middle class. We must decide that during this time of crisis, we should postpone travelling abroad for at least a year..." (With inputs from Sumita Kareer)
