Industry associations from telecom, electronic manufacturing and IT-ITeS sectors have collectively urged the government to classify as ‘essential’ certain activities like delivery of crucial items by e-commerce companies, ICT infrastructure support services and internet services.
In a letter to cabinet secretary, Rajiv Gauba, the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), COAI and MAIT urged that companies in IT services, e-commerce, communication and ICT infrastructure support services should be classified as essential services. These services are critical to the success of shelter-in-place and other coronavirus response measures, allowing students to engage in distance learning, families to stay connected, businesses to continue operating and enabling the delivery and pick-up of groceries, medical supplies, household staples and other essential items.
Tech companies and IT industry globally are supporting (by providing various products and services) health care providers, educational institutions, first responders, pharmaceutical industry, all levels of government and countless others responding to the coronavirus, the industry associations said in the letter.
“The ability to stay connected and communicate in real time is a critical part of ongoing response efforts and any material disruption to or closure of operations could severely impact the IT industry’s ability to support these mission-critical endeavours. To help ensure the continuity, stability, and cybersecurity of these services, any government’s list of essential business exemptions should include companies that provide these products and services, and the companies that support them,” the letter states.
The associations said that government in its advisories can clearly define such services as essential and therefore be allowed to function with proper hygiene standards and precautions.
The industry bodies said services such as telecom, equipment manufacturing factories, network operation centres, internet services, including IT-ITeS, ICT Infrastructure support services including supply of hardware and software products should be classified as essential.
Besides, e-commerce services, their warehouses and agents working for delivery of essential items should also be part of such services, they said in the letter.
The employees working in such services and their support staff should also be allowed to work with self-certifications and company identity cards, ITI, COAI and MAIT urged the government.
Although, home ministry, in its guidelines issued on Tuesday, said that telecom, internet, cable, IT-ITeS (for essential services) will be allowed to operate, industry sources said there were several co-ordination issues in states and a more detailed order specifying such services would help clear the air.
The government has also exempted delivery of essential items, including food, medical equipment sold through e-commerce sites from the 21-day lockdown.
Industry chamber Assocham suggested that with a drop in hotel and restaurant business, including app-driven home delivery models, there are thousands of delivery workers who can also be used to fill in for logistic support to the neighbourhood grocers, pharmacies and other essential outlets.
“However, such quick-fix solutions would require fast policy permissions from the state governments, transport and traffic authorities and IT solutions from the app-based firms. The time is of essence and once the states, in wider coordination from the Centre, put in place a well-defined set of rules, we can have emergency stop-gap business solutions to the extra-ordinary worldwide medical challenges,” Assocham secretary general, Deepak Sood said.