COVID-19: Work from home norms for BPO, IT firms extended till July 31

Amid the COVID-19 lockdown, the government of India has decided to extend the relaxed connectivity norms for work from home till July 31, from the present April 30. The extension is applicable on BPO and IT companies. Ravi Shankar Prasad, IT Minister stated that earlier the relaxed norms of work from home was to end on April 30, but now he has extended till July 31, 2020. The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) stated that the decision to extend the timelines will help the BPO and IT firms to plan their strategies of bringing back employees to offices in a phased manner.

Earlier, many firms were not allowed to connect the office virtual private network (VPN) at home, but the rule was relaxed due to the work from home model followed amidst the COVID-19 lockdown. Sangeeta Gupta, Senior Vice-President and Chief Strategy Officer, NASSCOM told PTI that work from home is going to be the new normal for sometime and will help the firms to plan return-to-office strategy in a phased manner.

Meanwhile, Ravi Shankar Prasad recently interacted with IT ministers of all states through video conferencing, for addressing the challenges faced by electronic and IT sector due to the lockdown. In the interaction, the minister urged the IT ministers to promote electronics manufacturing through pro-investment initiatives. He also directed that the data of the Aarogya Setu government app should be made available in all states.

Presently, over 90 percent of India’s IT workforce is working from home, and only those in critical functions are reporting to office. Earlier, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority had also ordered MNCs, BPO and IT-enabled firms to work from home till the end of July. Gurugram is home to several MNCs such as Google, Infosys, Genpact, Microsoft, and others.