Doing more with less is India Inc's new mantra to beat tough times

Bengaluru: India Inc is stepping up the focus on fiscal prudence and resource optimisation as geopolitical uncertainties and potential global disruptions push companies into caution mode.

Firms across sectors are cutting discretionary spending, restricting non-essential travel, expanding hybrid and remote work, and accelerating energy-efficiency initiatives to not just navigate current volatility but also ensure operational resilience.

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Companies say these steps align with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for restraint and responsible consumption while maintaining productivity and long-term growth momentum

IndusInd Bank is extending roster-based work-from-home policies, while Lupin has tightened travel approvals. PwC India has urged employees to undertake travel only when essential; HomeLane is leveraging technology to drive greater efficiency. Capgemini, Infosys, RPG Group and HUL are strengthening sustainability measures through renewable energy, electric mobility, virtual collaboration and IoT-led energy management.

“In line with India’s broader emphasis on work-from-home and virtual collaboration to conserve resources and promote efficiency, the bank is expanding its roster-based work-from-home framework across multiple departments, following its successful adoption across select teams,” said Amitabh Kumar Singh, chief human resources officer at IndusInd Bank: “We have consistently undertaken measures centred on resource optimisation and operational effectiveness.”

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While several firms already have a flexible and hybrid strategy in place for their workforce, business travel is now coming under the scanner in a much bigger way.

Lupin has tightened domestic and international travel, and it’s now allowed for highly essential business purposes only, said Yashwant Mahadik, president (global HR) at the pharma major.

RPG Group is strictly optimising travel: curtailing foreign travel to the minimum, significantly reducing domestic air travel and avoiding and minimising meetings that require intercity travel.

PwC in India, too, has asked its people to review all domestic and international travel, with travel to be undertaken only where there is a clear business need.

HUL encourages a virtual mode of meeting wherever possible.

While hybrid and work-from-home continues to be an established practice across relevant functions at HomeLane, the home interior design firm has rationalised business travel with a clear shift towards virtual engagements wherever feasible.

“For travel that remains necessary, we have actively encouraged the use of train connectivity, particularly through the expanded Vande Bharat network, in place of short-distance flights. This not only reduces fuel consumption but also results in meaningful savings on travel costs,” said Srikanth Iyer, cofounder, HomeLane.

“Additionally, we are decentralising several decision-making processes. For instance, new store opening and scouting decisions are now being handled by local teams, eliminating the need for outside-city travel by senior staff,” he added.

Capgemini, on its part, has been increasingly electrifying its mobility ecosystem, and EVs constitute a significant majority of its fleet ecosystem.

“We continue to strengthen operational efficiency through initiatives such as our Energy Command Centre (ECC), which uses IoT-led monitoring to optimise energy consumption across campuses,” said a spokesperson.