Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to revive work from home, reduce travel and conserve fuel amid the West Asia conflict has reopened the remote work debate across government offices, India’s IT sector and corporate boardrooms.

Speaking in Hyderabad earlier this week, Modi urged citizens and businesses to conserve fuel and cut avoidable expenditure as rising global energy prices and supply pressures weigh on India’s economy.

“Patriotism is not only about the willingness to sacrifice one's life on the border. In these times, it is about living responsibly and fulfilling our duties to the nation in our daily lives,” he said.

The Prime Minister suggested wider use of work from home, virtual meetings, metro rail, electric vehicles and railway cargo services to reduce fuel consumption and conserve foreign exchange.

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Government employee bodies seek WFH guidelines

The Central Secretariat Service (CSS) Forum urged the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to issue formal work-from-home guidelines for government offices.

“The visionary leadership of hon'ble Prime Minister and the dedicated government workforce will definitely give the fruitful results of this initiative,” the forum said.

In a post on X, it said, “CSS Forum urges the #DoPT to issue comprehensive guidelines on Work From Home (WFH), online meetings, and virtual conferencing for both government and private sectors.”

The association said a structured framework could improve productivity, employee well-being and support a “green secretariat”.

The All India NPS Employees Federation also backed the proposal.

“All India NPS Employees Federation ask the government to consider measures like work from home, virtual meetings, among others, as suggested by the prime minister for the welfare and progress of our country,” federation president Manjeet Singh Patel told PTI.

IT unions push for mandatory WFH advisory

India’s IT employee union, the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), has written to Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya seeking a government advisory for mandatory work from home in the IT and IT-enabled services sector wherever feasible.

The employee body said the pandemic had already shown that large-scale remote work could continue without affecting productivity or business continuity.

NITES argued that unnecessary office commutes increase fuel consumption, traffic congestion and environmental strain, while also affecting employee well-being.

The organisation added that the request should not be viewed as a confrontation with employers, but as a collective effort involving companies, workers and the government.

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IT industry and corporates weigh in on the response

NASSCOM said companies are already balancing remote and office work based on operational and client requirements.

The debate comes at a time when many firms had tightened office attendance rules after largely ending pandemic-era remote work policies.

Several business leaders have now indicated they may revisit hybrid work models.

Harsh Goenka said RPG Group already follows a 50% work-from-home policy.

“As responsible citizens, we should try our best to contribute in whatever way we can,” Goenka wrote on X.

Sridhar Vembu said Zoho would reconsider its recent return-to-office approach.

“I hope all of us heed the Prime Minister's appeal. As a company, we adopted Work From Office fully in recent months, but we will revisit Work From Home now,” Vembu said.

Sunil Kant Munjal supported energy conservation efforts but said there was still little clarity on implementation.

“Considering that we are one of the largest importers of energy in the world, it is only sensible that we start conserving energy and see how we can become more efficient,” he said.

Meanwhile, firms such as KPMG India said they were evaluating the announcement while balancing business and client commitments, while companies including Deloitte, EY and Mercedes-Benz India are expected to continue with existing hybrid work models.

Published on: May 14, 2026 10:09 AM IST