NEW DELHI — The Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate on Monday urged the Indian government to advise IT and IT-enabled services companies to allow employees to work from home wherever operations permit, saying the move would help conserve fuel and reduce unnecessary commuting amid global uncertainty.
In a letter to Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, the employee group said remote work should be encouraged as part of a broader national effort to conserve fuel and ease pressure on urban infrastructure.
NITES cited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent appeal asking citizens and organizations to adopt measures such as work from home, virtual meetings and reduced travel. The group said the appeal should be treated as a collective national responsibility given current geopolitical developments and concerns over fuel consumption.
“The Indian IT sector had already successfully implemented large-scale work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic without disruption to productivity or business continuity,” NITES President Harpreet Singh Saluja said.
“The IT/ITeS sector has both the infrastructure and capability to once again support national priorities through remote working,” he added.
NITES said the technology sector proved during the pandemic that remote work models could support productivity and business continuity. Technology companies, multinational firms, customer support operations and software teams continued serving global clients and executing projects efficiently while operating remotely, the group said.
“Companies invested heavily in remote infrastructure, cybersecurity systems, cloud operations, digital collaboration tools, and virtual management systems,” NITES said.
“Employees adapted successfully. Productivity targets were met. International business continued uninterrupted. The sector itself repeatedly acknowledged during that period that operations remained stable under remote working conditions,” it added.
The group said requiring lakhs of employees to commute daily despite the availability of digital alternatives puts unnecessary pressure on fuel consumption, traffic congestion, public transport systems and urban infrastructure. (Source: IANS)
