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Yogi’s WFH and online class plan remained limited to papers. But convincing Ghaziabadites to park their cars – and Lucknow students to log in without parathas – is another matter entirely.
With less public transport and millions of private commuters, UP’s tier-2 cities burn more fuel per capita than Delhi. WFH finally fixed it. (AI image)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has proposed a two-day weekly work-from-home model for employees in large industrial units, IT companies and startups – and ordered online classes for students from classes 1 to 8 – as part of a broader fuel conservation drive due to rising global crude oil prices. The steps seem ambitious. But do they really work?
This push is in accordance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeal to citizens and companies Reduce unnecessary fuel consumption Crude oil prices are rising rapidly amid geopolitical tensions in West Asia.
The proposal follows a series of developments that have collectively revitalized the National work from home conversationWhich also includes a formal letter by the nascent Information Technology Employees Senate to the Labor Ministry, seeking government advice encouraging remote work in IT and IT-enabled services.
Yogi’s orders go further – cutting the convoy of ministers by 50 per cent, moving to virtual government meetings, proposing staggered office timings and even floating the idea of a weekly no vehicle day.
What exactly has Yogi ordered – and what is SIET?
CM Yogi has requested institutions with manpower of more than 50 people to include the arrangement of working from home two days a week. The full package of instructions includes:
• Two-day WFH for large industrial units, IT companies and startups
• 50 percent reduction in the convoys of ministers and official vehicles including the Chief Minister.
• Inter-district meetings, training and committee meetings shifted to hybrid or virtual mode
• 50 percent of internal meetings in the State Secretariat will be held virtually
• Ministers urged to use public transport – metro, bus, e-rickshaw or carpooling – at least once a week
• Proposal for weekly no vehicle day for government employees, students and civil society.
• Promotion of cycling, carpooling and electric vehicles
In the field of education, the Basic and Secondary Education Department of the state, in collaboration with the State Institute of Educational Technology (SIET), has developed a platform to help students of classes 6 to 12 continue their studies anytime and anywhere through recorded lectures available on Diksha Portal, SIET’s official website and mobile application.
Students can access the content through DTH educational channels through smartphones, tablets, laptops or even television.
SIET – State Institute of Educational Technology – is a decades-old government body, originally established under the INSAT Satellite Education Project of 1982 to produce educational television and radio content for school children in regional languages. It is now being established as the digital education backbone of UP.
How much fuel can Noida, Ghaziabad, Lucknow and Kanpur actually save?
These are not cities Mumbai Or Delhi – but that’s what makes this argument interesting. The greatest potential fuel savings are concentrated in key office corridors where long commutes and personal transport reliance are common – such as Bengaluru, Gurugram, Noida, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai and Chennai.
Noida and Ghaziabad, with their dense IT and corporate park clusters, fall into this category.
A rough but illustrative calculation for a typical commuter in a UP city:
• Average one-way commute: 15 to 25 km
• Car mileage: 12 km per liter at Rs 105 per liter petrol
• Daily fuel cost: Around Rs 175 per day
• Two WFH days a week Savings: Around Rs 1,400 per person per month
Over one lakh such passengers in Noida-Ghaziabad alone: Total monthly savings amount to over Rs 140 crore – in fuel alone, not counting time
Petrol sales are largely driven by two-wheelers and private cars, which are also the most used categories for office commute.
Working from home should be seen as only one part of a broader urban fuel-management strategy – virtual meetings, staggered office hours, carpooling and the adoption of stronger public transportation all need to work together.
How does UP compare with Delhi or Mumbai in this matter?
Metro cities like Delhi and Mumbai have dense public transport networks – metro, local trains, buses – which means a large portion of their workforce already travels without burning private vehicle fuel.
WFH fuel savings are paradoxically larger in cities like Noida, Ghaziabad, Lucknow and Kanpur because private vehicle dependence is high and public transport options are low.
Very few people in these cities can afford to take the bus or train – so they save more fuel per capita than when they stay at home. mumbai local train The computer will be there anytime.
What did Covid teach us about WFH and fuel?
The pandemic gave India its most dramatic real-world experiment. India’s petroleum product consumption fell 45.8 percent in April 2020 compared to April 2019 following sharp cuts in industrial activity and transportation during the nationwide restrictions.
Diesel consumption declined by 24 percent in March 2020 compared to March 2019, while total petroleum product consumption declined by 18 percent during the same period. Cities reported dramatically cleaner air almost immediately.
But experts caution against reading too much into the text:
• The better approach is calibrated hybrid work, fewer physical meetings and reduced non-essential travel – not panic-induced shutdowns
• Depending on climate conditions, dwelling size and appliance efficiency, a day working from home can increase household energy consumption by seven percent to 23 percent compared to a day working in the office.
• If air conditioning, lighting and security systems remain on in office buildings no matter how many employees come in, corporate energy savings may be minimal.
In Uttar Pradesh’s fierce May heatBy running home air conditioners all day, some of the fuel savings are silently transferred to the electricity bill.
And what about online classes – will they actually work?
This is where the ground reality of the Covid-era calls for serious scrutiny. Online classes became a theater of daily chaos in UP schools – and teachers across the state have not forgotten it:
• Students appear to wear a vest while brushing their teeth or eating parathas in between lessons
• While the class was going on the aunties went into the video frame hugging
• Boys in senior classes easily make obscene gestures before logging off
• Students sending obscene messages or showing inappropriate material to teachers
• Baghpat case ends in police investigation after a teacher caned two students – parents defend children’s behavior as pandemic crisis worsens
• A Kanpur teacher points out that a Class 10 girl is seen on screen in full make-up and revealing clothes – her mother’s defence: She was “learning the art of make-up” just before classes started.
As one teacher from Varanasi soberly put it: “I am afraid to return to normal classes – I don’t know how to face online abusers.”
SIET’s recorded lecture model at least removes the live-class discipline problem, allowing kids to learn at their own pace. But without devices, stable internet and an adult in the room, the gap between policy and the living room remains wide — especially for classes 1 to 8, where children are youngest and parental supervision is most critical.
So will it really make a difference?
Hybrid operation can support India’s fuel conservation and energy security objectives by reducing congested daily commutes among private vehicle users in major metropolitan areas, especially in the services and IT sectors.
Given India’s high dependence of about 85 percent on imported crude oil, even modest reductions in peak-hour travel could contribute to reducing transportation fuel demand and associated urban emissions.
Arithmetic is real. The intention is right. But there is a very long road between government advisories and a family in Ghaziabad switching off their car engine twice a week or a Class 3 student in Lucknow sitting quietly during SIET video lectures without a paratha in his hand.
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