From online chat forums to corporate board rooms, a lot of discussions this week have been held over Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy's remarks urging youngsters to work 70 hours a week. In a podcast, the 77-year-old said that India can only grow and compete with economies like China if youngsters in the country significantly improve their work productivity.
Mr Murthy made the remarks during a conversation with former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai on the first episode of 3one4 Capital's podcast 'The Record'. The two discussed how China and the US have made significant economic progress in the last few decades.
Mr Murthy, asked about how India could compete with these economies, said that not only will the country have to increase its work productivity, but also reduce the corruption and bureaucracy in the system.
"India's work productivity is one of the lowest in the world. Unless we reduce our work productivity, unless we reduce corruption in the government unless we reduce the delays in our bureaucracy in taking decisions, we will not be able to compete with the countries that have made progress," Mr Murthy said.
He said that young people in India have a habit of taking habits from the West and then not helping the country.
"Somehow, our youth have a habit of taking not-so-desirable habits from the West and then not helping the country. Therefore, my request is that our youngsters must say This is my country, I want to work 70 hours a week," he said.
To drive home the importance of increased productivity and discipline, Narayana Murthy then cites the examples of Germany and Japan to show how their economies grew rapidly after World War II
He also urged corporate leaders to address young people in their company and explain the importance of hard work.
"I hope our corporate leaders will be able to address our youngsters and say - for the first time India has received certain respect. This is the time for us to consolidate and accelerate the progress. And for that we need to work very hard and improve our work productivity," he said.
"Unless we do that, what can the government do. Every government is as good as the culture of the people. Our culture has to change to that of extremely determined and extremely hard-working people. And that change has to come from youngsters because they form a significant part of our population and they are the ones who can build our country with gusto," Mr Murthy says.
His comments have sparked a debate not only among users on social media, but also among business leaders who are divided on the idea.
Days after the interview, Mr Pai, who hosted the podcast, shared “interesting data” and clarified that the remarks were aimed at people under 30.
Mr Pai, sharing a graph on the number of hours people work in all Indian states, said, “Interesting data! This is for all ages. NRN advice was for youngsters, people below 30! Prosperity needs hard work, data shows.”
