India’s IT industry is unlikely to revisit stricter office attendance policies despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent appeal encouraging work-from-home practices to help reduce fuel consumption amid rising geopolitical tensions in West Asia.
Industry executives and sector bodies said most technology companies are expected to continue operating through hybrid work models that were gradually stabilized after the pandemic. These structures currently balance employee flexibility, operational requirements, and client expectations.
The discussion around remote work resurfaced after PM Modi urged organisations to consider reviving Covid-era work-from-home arrangements as rising global tensions impact supply chains, increase oil prices, and put pressure on India’s foreign exchange reserves.
However, industry leaders indicated that most IT firms have already built flexibility into their workforce strategies and are unlikely to make major changes to existing policies unless the geopolitical situation worsens significantly.
Pareekh Jain, CEO and lead analyst at EIIRTrend, said companies are expected to maintain the current hybrid work balance rather than enforce stricter attendance mandates. He noted that organisations with tighter return-to-office policies may become more flexible if fuel conservation becomes a larger national priority.
Industry body Nasscom also stated that the Indian technology sector continues operating through established hybrid work models, with companies calibrating office attendance based on role requirements and customer needs.
The issue comes at a time when major IT firms had only recently managed to bring employees back to offices for 2 to 3 days a week after prolonged resistance from workers accustomed to remote work flexibility during the pandemic. For many organisations, the return-to-office transition became one of the sector’s most challenging workforce management exercises in recent years.
Infosys currently follows a hybrid model requiring employees to work from office for 10 days each month, aligning employee flexibility with sustainability goals. Meanwhile, Tata Consultancy Services continues operating under a stricter 5-day work-from-office structure, with limited remote work flexibility allowed under specific conditions.
Employee unions have also entered the debate. NITES urged the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment to direct IT and IT-enabled services companies to implement mandatory work-from-home wherever operationally feasible. The union described PM Modi’s remarks as a “national call for collective responsibility.”
Another employee union, FITE, stated that companies are unlikely to adopt widespread work-from-home measures unless formal guidance is issued by the government or relevant ministries.
Industry experts believe companies may selectively expand remote work flexibility if required, but a large-scale reversal of current hybrid work structures remains unlikely for now.
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