New Delhi: Various ministries of the Government of India have advised their employees to work from home amidst the spike in COVID-19 cases. Officers above the Under Secretary rank have been asked to report to the office in staggered timings, The New Indian Express (TNIE) reported quoting ANI.
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Information and Broadcasting Ministry, and the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has asked its officers to reach the office with staggered timings. Those who are living in COVID-19 containment zones can avoid coming to the office.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has given three time slots for officers to work, from 9 am to 5:30 pm, 9:30 am to 6 pm and 10 am to 6:30 pm.
The Ministry has also said that a similar practice may followed by autonomous bodies, media units, and PSUs, the report added.
Similarly, the MHA in the latest written communication has said that all officers who attend office can stagger timings with entry into the office spread between 9 am to 10 am with corresponding office exit timings. This will also avoid the rush in commuting, as also in lifts and corridors.
Up to the Under-Secretary level, officers are allowed to work from home up to a minimum restricted attendance but above Under-Secretary there is no exemption from coming from the office.
According to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s office memorandum, all the Director/Deputy Directors have to prepare a roster to ensure that fifty per cent of Group B and C employees may attend office every day and the remaining fifty per cent staff be advised to work from home, adding that attendance of one person per section should be maintained.
The memorandum further directed officials working from home to be available on the telephone or electronic means of communication at all times and further said that these officials should attend office if called for an exigency of work, the report said.