Indian IT and ITES companies to continue working through lockdown

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India’s IT and IT-enabled services companies, which have been included among those organisations exempted from shutting under the India lockdown announced on Tuesday, are continuing to take steps to service their clients overseas. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for a complete country shutdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus. 

IT and IT-enabled services have been exempted by the Indian government as they provide essential services, alongside businesses including telecom operators and internet service providers.

“Genpact is included as a designated essential service and is fully compliant with all India government mandates. We provide critical support to industries such as medical, food supply, and banking—global businesses that are essential to keep people safe. We do not take this responsibility lightly,” an IT call centre and back office services provider based in Gurugram said in a statement.

“Genpact remains focused on taking necessary actions for the safety of our people, while ensuring that the critical services for our clients continue to operate,” the company added in its statement. Genpact has asked staff to work from home until further notice. For those who need computers to work from home, the company is taking devices to their residence.

The statement added: “We will continue to adapt our approach as the situation evolves while keeping employee safety as our top concern.”

India’s $180 billion IT and IT-enabled services industry earns the bulk of its revenues servicing the world’s biggest companies in America, Britain, Western Europe, Australia, Japan and other markets. The companies have implemented business-continuity plans and are tapping technology to replace in-person meetings and travel with videoconferencing and virtual support to their clients. A small portion of the companies’ employees are also based onsite overseas at their clients’ locations, while the bulk of the staff work from India.

Modi on Tuesday announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown to stem the spread of Covid-19, even as the number of known cases in the country crossed 500 people.