Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy has sparked a controversy after saying that Indian youngsters need to commit to working at least 70 hours a week to compete effectively with countries like China. He pointed out that India's work productivity is notably lower when compared to developed nations. These remarks were made during the first episode of the 'The Record' podcast by 3one4 Capital, in which the 77-year-old was having a conversation with former Infosys CEO Mohandas Pai.
"Somehow our youth has the habit of taking not-so-desirable habits from the West, and then… not helping the country. India's work productivity is one of the lowest in the world. Unless we improve our work productivity, unless we reduce corruption in the government at some level, because we have been reading I don't know the truth of it, unless we reduce the delays in our bureaucracy in taking this decision, we will not be able to compete with those countries that have made tremendous progress. So therefore, my request is that our youngsters must say, this is my country, I’d like to work 70 hours a week," Narayana Murthy said.
Murthy also cited post-World War II Germany and Japan as examples, highlighting how people in those countries put in extra hours for a certain period to achieve their goals. He stressed that the government's effectiveness is closely tied to the work culture of its people, and without extra effort, not much could be accomplished.
“After the Second World War, the people of Germany and Japan worked extra hours for the sake of their country. The youngsters in India also own the country and should work hard for the sake of our economy,” Murthy added.