11 - 05 - 2026

NITES urges govt to mandate remote work to conserve fuel

By Our IT Bureau
Bengaluru, May 11, 2026

Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), an IT employee’s union, has asked the Indian government to issue an advisory for mandatory work-from-home (WFH), triggered by the Prime Minister’s appeal for fuel conservation.

In a letter addressed to the Minister for Labour and Employment, Mansukh Mandaviya, the union argued that such a move is a “responsible economic and national-support measure” aligned with broader national interests.

The union urged the ministry to direct IT companies to implement mandatory WFH “wherever operationally feasible” to help the nation respond “intelligently and responsibly to global challenges through technology-driven governance”.

NITES, a representative body for employees in India’s IT and IT-enabled services, highlighted that the IT sector has already proven its ability to function effectively without physical offices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The “mandatory WFH in suitable IT and digitally deliverable roles is practical, technologically feasible, and operationally sustainable”, it said.

The union also stated that that requiring hundreds of thousands of employees to undertake long daily commutes places “unnecessary pressure on fuel consumption, urban infrastructure, public transport systems, road congestion, and employee well-being”.

Prime Minister’s Call

The call for remote work follows a recent appeal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who urged citizens and business establishments to adopt measures such as virtual meetings and WFH work-from-home arrangements. The Prime Minister’s appeal was a strategic response to the current global geopolitical climate, intended to drive fuel conservation and address the larger economic situation.

NITES described this statement as “a national call for collective responsibility during a sensitive period where reducing fuel dependency, traffic burden, and unnecessary consumption becomes part of contributing towards national interest”.

NITES emphasised that its objective is not to create a confrontation with employers but to foster “collective national cooperation”.

The letter, signed by NITES President Harpreet Singh Saluja, concluded with a request for “kind and urgent consideration” to balance economic growth with environmental responsibility.