Just after the PMs address to the nation, where he mentioned about an extended lockdown till May 3rd, the Indian Government has decided to give some relaxations to the IT sector by allowing it to operate with a capacity of 50 percent. As per the guidelines, the companies in the information technology business would be permitted to operate with a staff capacity of 50 percent in offices from April 20th.
The lockdown in India has been operational since March 25th, and in his address to the nation, the PM mentioned that some concessions may be given to people post-April 20th. In a press statement, the Government said that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued guidelines to allow select activities in the country.
“Digital economy is critical to the services sector and is important for national growth. Accordingly, e-commerce operations, operations of IT and IT-enabled services, data and call centres for Government activities, and online teaching and distance learning are all permitted activities now,” the government said.
“Manufacture of IT hardware and of essential goods and packagings are also allowed,” it added.
It has been almost three weeks since India has been on lockdown since the past three weeks and with this upcoming relaxation, the IT sector would be looking at mitigating losses since many employees are currently working from home. At the same time, employers at the IT sector would have to be very careful in ensuring that the congregation of employees doesn’t call for the spread of COVID-19.
The Government of India has literally been on its toes since the spread of the pandemic. As of now, there have been 12,380 positive cases and 414 deaths. Experts strongly advise that lockdown is the best way to curb the chain of the pandemic.