Nasscom Backs Hybrid Work, NITES Seeks WFH Advisory for IT Sector
Nasscom favors calibrated hybrid work, while NITES wants a government-backed WFH push to cut commuting and conserve fuel.
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India’s technology industry said it will continue using hybrid work models and energy-saving measures after Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week urged companies and citizens to revive work-from-home practices, reduce travel and conserve fuel amid rising global energy concerns.
Nasscom, the industry body representing India’s $315 billion technology sector, said on 11 May that companies were already balancing remote and office work based on role requirements, customer needs and operational priorities. The statement came a day after Modi asked people to cut fuel use, rely more on work from home and online meetings, and reduce non-essential travel as higher global energy prices put pressure on India’s foreign exchange reserves.
The Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate, or NITES, took a stronger position, writing to Union Labor and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya to seek a government advisory directing IT, IT-enabled services and digitally deliverable service companies to implement work from home wherever operationally feasible. The employee body said the sector, which employs about 5.8 million professionals, had already shown during the pandemic that large-scale remote work could continue without disrupting productivity or business continuity.
Companies that spent the past two years tightening office-attendance rules are now being asked to weigh business delivery, client requirements and employee expectations against a larger national call to reduce fuel use.
Modi, speaking in Hyderabad on Sunday, called for a return to work-from-home and online meetings, saying practices adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic could help India reduce fuel consumption.
“In the current situation, we must place great emphasis on saving foreign exchange,” he said, while also urging people to use public transport and carpool, avoid buying gold, reduce non-essential overseas travel for at least a year, cut cooking oil consumption and reduce fertilizer use.
Nasscom’s response avoided any call for a blanket return to remote work. The industry body said technology firms were operating under established hybrid models and would calibrate workplace arrangements according to business needs. It said companies were using “prudent energy management measures” across campuses, including reducing non-essential power consumption, rationalizing facility services and enabling remote or hybrid work where appropriate, according to reports citing the statement.
