As concerns grow over fuel conservation and unnecessary travel, India’s IT employee union NITES has urged the government to officially support work-from-home arrangements across the IT and IT-enabled services sector wherever feasible.
The request follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent appeal encouraging citizens and organisations to reduce avoidable travel, conserve fuel, and adopt remote working practices amid global geopolitical tensions and pressure on fuel supplies.
In a letter dated May 11, 2026, addressed to Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, NITES asked the ministry to issue an advisory directing IT and digitally deliverable sectors to implement temporary work-from-home policies in the national interest.
The letter, written by NITES president and Bombay High Court advocate Harpreet Singh Saluja, highlighted how lakhs of employees in major cities continue to spend hours commuting daily despite having the infrastructure to work remotely.
According to the employee body, unnecessary office travel adds pressure on fuel consumption, traffic congestion, public transport systems, and the environment, while also impacting employees’ physical and mental well-being. NITES said remote work, wherever operationally possible, could help reduce these pressures without affecting productivity.