Govt relaxes ‘WFH’ norms for IT, BPO firms

Electronics and IT Minister Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the government has extended relaxations of certain rules till 31 July to facilitate work from home for employees of information technology and business process outsourcing firms. These flexibilities were going to expire this Thursday, as per a government notification dated 13 March.

The minister made this decision during a video conference of ministers and senior bureaucrats of states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Haryana and Telangana, among others. He also asked them to support the ‘Bharat Net’ project and requested them examine right of way issues for improving telecom network. ‘Right of way’ is the policy of giving telecom companies and internet service providers the legal right to establish their infrastructure along a specific route and through grounds or property.

These relaxations come amidst the high possibility of the nation-wide lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic itself being further extended. They pertain to included requirement for a security deposit to be paid, requirement of certain authorised virtual private networks (VPN), and the need for prior permission for setting up a ‘work from home’ facility.