Centre updating its rule book to expand VPN, facilitate work-from-home

New Delhi: The Centre is working on new work-from-home guidelines for government functioning, including how offices will operate and procedure for file movement and disposal, under the new normal that the coronavirus pandemic has ushered in.

ET has learnt that some changes are also likely to be introduced in the Central Secretariat Manual of Office Procedure—the rule book that dictates the functioning of every central government office and the movement of a typical government file—to align it with the new work dynamics, which includes work-from-home (WFH) situations, and increased use of electronic communication.

The Centre recently instructed that all officials at the deputy secretary level and higher must ensure 100% office attendance and secure virtual private network (VPN) access has been extended to officials across ministries to facilitate WFH.