While everybody is hoping for the lockdown to get over on May 3rd and businesses start functioning like usual, a senior Haryana govt official has recently said that Gurugram might have to wait a little longer for that sight.
According to Gurugram Metropolitan Authority Chief Executive Officer and Haryana Government Additional Chief Secretary V.S Kundu, multinational companies (MNCs), business process outsourcing (BPO) firms and IT-enabled services (ITeS) companies may have to ask their employees to work remotely till June.
Talking to the Press Trust of India, Kundu said, “As of now, it appears this advisory for work from home will continue till the end of July. All those who have offices in Gurgaon should continue to work from home to the extent possible.”
He further added, “It is advisable that companies should ensure that as many employees as possible work from home. This might not be possible in the case of industries and the manufacturing sector, but should be followed wherever possible.”
Kundu is also the in-charge of handling the COVID-19 crisis in Gurgaon district.
This suggestion by him comes hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a Chief Ministerial meeting to decide on the next phase of action against the battle with the pandemic.
A number of states have reportedly pushed for a further extension of the lockdown but with certain relaxations based on the impact in the areas. The second phase of lockdown ends on 3rd May.
Although the Union Home Ministry has revised its guidelines to allow companies to return to offices with 50% occupancy from April 21, many companies are still working remotely.
Gurugram is home to many tech giants, including Infosys, Google, Facebook and Microsoft, as well as BPO firms like Genpact and Convergys, which work 24/7 serving clients across geographies including the US, Europe and Australia.
Haryana began the state-wide lockdown on 22 March, three days before the nationwide lockdown. The state has reported 296 cases and three deaths. With 51 people testing positive, Gurugram has the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state, after Nuh.
HrNxt.com Newsdesk has researchers and writers with an excellent domain knowledge about the talent ecosystem, and the business environment. The team keeps a tab on the latest happenings in the ecosystem to bring most relevant news and insights for our readers. You can connect with our newsdesk at newsdesk@hrnxt.com.