INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
work from offices, according to a memo seen by Reuters that offers an early sign of the country's $190 billion technology services sector
moving to get back on track.The Bengaluru-based IT services company stopped short of calling all employees back to work, reflecting wider
caution across the sector as Indian officials warn about the looming threat of a third wave of COVID-19 infections.Still, after a
devastating second wave of infections in May, the country's daily numbers are roughly a tenth of the peak, with infections falling to the
lowest in four months on Tuesday.Health experts have appealed to state governments and citizens to not lower their guard against COVID-19,
saying a third wave was inevitable.Other sectors such as aviation and manufacturing have had to call some employees back to sites, or are
staying closed entirely as the pandemic disrupted travel and many states imposed lockdowns to curb rising cases.In its memo, Infosys said
the country's safety situation seems to be improving, with growing vaccination coverage
Infosys did not respond to Reuters' request for comment on the memo.The company said it had been operating in emergency mode for months but
noted that the situation in the country was now improving."We have been getting requests from certain accounts to allow their team members
to work from Infosys campuses
In addition, some of our employees have also been asking to come back and start working from office, as a personal preference."After
would make efforts to get "more and more people to come to office" over the next couple of quarters.The government has launched a campaign
to vaccinate the country's roughly 950 million adults by the end of the year
So far, just about nine per cent of the adult population has been fully vaccinated with a mandatory second dose.But after a disastrous
more employees vaccinated.The country's software services sector, which offers critical services for some of the world's biggest
companies, including banks and retailers, struggled when the pandemic first hit the country last year.Thousands of tech employees have grown
comfortable with working from home since and some managers in the sector privately say they are worried about their ability to get workers
back on site if and when the situation improves.Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, the country's biggest outsourcer, said earlier this month
that it hoped to vaccinate all its employees and their families by September."Recognizing that vaccination was our best bet to an early
return to normalcy, we undertook a pan-India vaccination drive that began in May," said Chief Executive Officer Rajesh Gopinathan, adding
wait until September to get staff back to work.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and
is published from a syndicated feed.)
