From Sunil Mittal to Sridhar Vembu: What India Inc feels about work from home

India’s corporate sector is treading cautiously on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for work from home, virtual meetings and reduced travel amid geopolitical tensions. PM Modi’s renewed appeal for work from home comes at a time when the West Asia conflict has emerged as one of the most serious global crises of the decade. 

Framing it as an act of “economic patriotism” during a period of global uncertainty, Modi said at a gathering in Hyderabad, “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.”

While he didn’t directly comment on the WFH push, Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal urged the industry to step up domestic capital expenditure and reduce import dependence. 

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“These are difficult times. We, as a country, have been moving at a fantastic speed, growing at 6-7% year over year. Generally, things are looking very, very good. But some situations develop which are beyond anybody’s control,” Mittal said at the CII Annual Business Summit. 

He called upon businesses to “vote with our feet within our country” by increasing domestic investments. Describing India as “a continent of consumers, a large, young population wanting more products and more services,” he urged industry to meet the domestic demand. 

“Give them more from India, make in India, from India, serving India,” he said.

At present, RPG Group has a 50% work from home policy and a hybrid model. Reiterating Modi’s request to citizens, Harsh Goenka said in a post on X (previously Twitter), “As responsible citizens, we should try our best to contribute in whatever way we can.” 

On Monday, Zoho founder and chief scientist Sridhar Vembu said that his company will reconsider work from home now, given the Prime Minister’s appeal. “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.

He added that Zoho has adopted natural farming practices and is looking at ways to reduce diesel usage. 

Hero Enterprises Chairman Sunil Kant Munjal, however, flagged a lack of clarity over what companies should do. “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 at a business event. 

He mentioned that work from home (WFH) is not happening right now. “But I think some people will take this up as a good practice.” 

KPMG India, which is already following a hybrid work policy, told The Economic Times, “The announcement is being evaluated, and will be addressed suitably – keeping people, business and client commitments in mind.”

Others, such as Deloitte, EY, Tata Motors, Coca-Cola India, and Mercedes-Benz India, will continue with hybrid work policies as usual. 

The technology sector is also backing PM Modi’s call for work from home. Nasscom on May 11 said that IT companies are already enabling remote and hybrid work “where operationally appropriate” to cut energy use and commuting.

In a statement issued amid tensions in West Asia, Nasscom said the industry continues to run on “well-established hybrid work models”, with firms balancing work-from-home and office attendance based on role and customer needs. It said companies have also adopted “prudent energy management measures” across campuses.

Hours earlier, employee body NITES wrote to the Ministry of Labour and Employment seeking an advisory mandating work from home for the IT and IT-enabled services sector. In its May 11 letter to Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, it cited Modi’s appeal and said, “The statement was not merely an operational suggestion. It was a national call for collective responsibility…”

NITES said the sector had already shown during the Covid-19 pandemic that large-scale remote work could continue without hurting productivity. Nasscom said the industry has continuity frameworks in place and is monitoring the situation with stakeholders and authorities.