government home work also extended likely till

Lockdown: Govt relaxes ‘work from home’ connectivity norms for IT, BPO firmstill July-endNew Delhi: The government has extended relaxations of certain norms till 31July to facilitate work from home for employees of information technology andbusiness process outsourcing (BPO) firms, electronics and IT minister RaviShankar Prasad said on Tuesday.The exemptions included requirement for a security deposit to be paid,requirement of certain authorised virtual private networks (VPN), and the needfor prior permission for setting up a ‘work from home’ facility.These provisions, made through a government notification on 13 March, werelikely to expire on Thursday.However, these relaxations have been extended as the nation-wide lockdownaimed at curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic itself is likelyto be extended, especially in hotspots of regions like Bengaluru, Hyderabad,Mumbai and the National Capital Region of Delhi, which are also major IT hubs,the government has extended the exemption.National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) and other ITofficials had also sought a clear policy in terms of exemptions on work fromhome.The Karnataka government on Tuesday also permitted information technology (IT)companies to continue working from home till July-end, even as it announcedeasing of restrictions in some parts of the state that have not been heavilyimpacted by covid-19.Prasad made the decision during a video conference of ministers and seniorbureaucrats of states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Haryana and Telangana,among others.The Union minister also asked the states to support the ‘Bharat Net’ projectand requested them examine right of way issues for improving telecom network.Right of way refers to the policy of giving telecom companies and internetservice providers the legal right to set up their infrastructure along aspecific route and through grounds or property.The government is likely to extend the lockdown, which started on 25 March, inareas that have become hotspots. Large number of cases are concentrated inmajor metropolitan areas like Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad andBengaluru, among others. As of Tuesday end, there were more than 31,000confirmed cases in the country, of which nearly 1,000 have died while over7,700 have recovered.Subscribe to Mint Newsletters* Enter a valid email* Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.