September 8 2021 (updated Sep 10): In its report submitted to  the Indian Upper House or Rajya Sabha on August 10, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs  is known to have  proposed  that Virtual Private Networks or VPN services should be banned in India because of the security threat they pose.
This recommendation,is being viewed with some astonishment by the tech community, since it seeks to  block users from what is generally perceived to be a  very useful tool for privacy – and more importantly in the current environment – a crucial enabler for secure WorkFromHome.
A virtual private network (VPN) creates  a private network  across a public network like Internet   and  allows  users to send and receive data , tunnelling through the  public networks but  working as  if  they were on their own network. They achieve this by encrypting the data moving to and fro and hiding the users’  identity or in this case their Internet Protocol or IP address. 
This today, allows millions of Indian  tech professionals, call centre and customer care agents to work from the safety of their homes, while the data they send or receive –it could be  private  details about a customer, his or her complaint,  a financial transaction for  online purchase --  moves securely and privately on their own dedicated networks, even while they harness the public internet. Indeed the entire premise of employees working on company business on their on secure networks,  while located anywhere in the world is made possible only because of VPNs.
That is why  IT professionals  are surprised at the  suggestion mooted by  Standing Committee that the  Union Ministries of  Home  and of Electronics and Information Technology   join with Internet Service Providers , to block VPN services.
It is true the same VPN which helps corporates protect the integrity of their data networks also enable  Net baddies to  bypass cyber security and retain their anonymity online.  But banning the use of VPNs  -- if indeed that is the  suggestion made, seems like throwing the baby out with the bath water.
Realism suggests  that unless the government intends  to control the Internet as a whole in a manner, and to a degree ,not hitherto practised in India, it would not be feasible or prudent to  outlaw VPNS as a class.
Beyond corporate networks, many lay users of Internet accounts,  install VPNs to protect their identity from scammers and cyber criminals. Most  Internet Security  packages that consumers subscribe to, now include a free option to activate a VPN.
Among the first to comment on the purported moves against VPNs in India, the Economic Times in a editorial this morning says:
"The government should turn down the recommendation of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Home Affairs to ban virtual private networks (VPNs) in the country.  The committee felt that VPNs permit cybercriminals to skulk behind the anonymity these provide and launch attacks on their targets. On balance, VPNs enable, rather than hinder security… . Business security as well as individual liberty both favour VPNs…To ban VPNs would be to shoot ourselves in parts more sensitive than the foot."
Related resources:
Parliamentary Committee reportedly wants to ban VPN services: Why it should worry India Inc - The Financial Express
Virtual private network - Wikipedia
What Is a VPN? - Virtual Private Network - Cisco
Shed security state obsession - The Economic Times (indiatimes.com)
Don’t ban VPNs: The pros definitely outweigh the cons - The Financial Express