Prayagraj:

Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy on Sunday called the rising population a major challenge for the country, saying Indians had not paid attention to population control since the Emergency period.

Mr Murthy made the remark during the convocation ceremony of Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology in Prayagraj, where he was the chief guest.

“India faces significant challenges related to population, per capita land availability, and healthcare facilities,” he said.

“Since the Emergency period, we Indians have not paid enough attention to population control. This poses a risk of making our country unsustainable. In comparison, countries such as the US, Brazil and China have far higher per capita land availability,” he said.

Mr Murthy also emphasised that a true professional’s responsibility was to contribute to the nation’s progress.

“This contribution depends on having high aspirations, dreaming big and working hard to turn those dreams into reality,” the Infosys co-founder said.

“One generation must make many sacrifices to improve the lives of the next. My parents, siblings and teachers made significant sacrifices for my progress and my presence here as the chief guest is proof that their sacrifices were not in vain,” he said.

During the ceremony, 1,670 degrees were awarded. Postgraduate students received 34 gold medals while undergraduates received 13. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The rapid expansion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across industries worldwide has made tasks efficient and easier. And with that, there’s also been a growing concern about potential job losses to the technology. However, Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy believes the concern about AI replacing jobs is “overblown”.  

In a recent interview, Mr Murthy weighed in on AI’s potential to replace human jobs, particularly in coding. “The most powerful instrument ever invented by God is the human mind,” he told Moneycontrol.

Recalling the introduction of “case tools” in 1975, he said that many at the time thought it would replace human employment in software development. “It didn’t happen… When that technology of case tools and programme generators were invented,” adding that “those tools couldn’t handle” bigger and more complex problems.

Mr Murthy suggested focusing on how AI can “amplify” human labour, as per the outlet. The former Infosys CEO believes we should be able to “tame that beast and make it an assistive tool.” 

“I am a confirmed optimist regarding the role of technology in general and specifically in AI.”

It’s not the first time Mr Murthy has dismissed the notion that AI would replace human jobs. 

Even in February 2024, during a speech at the foundation day of the All India Management Association (AIMA), he said that while AI improves our lives, humans will always make sure it doesn’t dominate us. Mr Murthy said that the human mind remains superior to technology, always staying ahead. “Humans have the power of the mind,” he said, “no computer can compete with that.”

Phaneesh Murthy.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Digital transformation and technology consulting firm CriticalRiver Inc has roped in IT industry veterans Phaneesh Murthy as a senior executive advisory board member and Raju Reddy as an independent director on the board.

The company, which counts Fortune 100 and 500 companies among its customers, has also announced appointment of Narayana Murthy as executive vice president and global delivery head; and Sunil Sharma as global head of innovation and digital solutions.

The move is aimed at positioning itself for hyper growth and innovation. With decades of collective experience and proven track record of success in scaling businesses, Mr. Phaneesh Murthy and Mr. Reddy bring invaluable insights and strategic guidance, positioning the company for rapid expansion and market dominance, CriticalRiver said in a release on April 10.

“CriticalRiver is poised for an era of unparalleled growth and these strategic appointments underscore our commitment to excellence and innovation,” founder and CEO Anji Maram said.

Mr. Narayana Murthy has been at the forefront of enterprise transformation initiatives and led operations in offshore, onshore and nearshore capabilities. His global role is pivotal for bolstering the company’s delivery capabilities in the U.S., Australia, Qatar, India and UAE.

Besides spearheading pivotal digital transformation initiatives, Mr. Sharma serves as a visiting faculty member for executive education programmes at the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) and UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, specialising in the field of digital transformation and data strategy, the company said.

Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy
| Photo Credit: DEEPAK KR

Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy recently said that young Indians must work for 70 hours a week. The comment has been met with support from some and criticism from others. The comments were made in the first episode of a video series published by 3one4 Capital titled ‘The Record’.

Assuming a six-day work week, Mr. Murthy’s comment means that Indians would have to work 11.5 hours of work a day. How many hours does an average young Indian work at present? According to the Time Use Survey conducted in India in 2019, a person aged 15-29 spends over 7.2 hours a day in employment and related activities in rural areas and 8.5 hours a day in urban areas. A State-wise comparison of the time spent on work in urban areas, given that this figure is higher than in rural areas, is presented in Map 1. Urban Uttarakhand ranks first, with young people from the State working for an average of 9.6 hours a day, which is about two hours less than what Mr. Murthy envisions.

Map 1 | The map shows the average number of hours an urban Indian aged 15-29 spends in a day on employment and related activities

Charts appear incomplete? Click to remove AMP mode

Assuming that if people work for five days, they would have to work for 14 hours a day, a point to ponder is whether working more hours translates to better productivity. Mr. Murthy raises this point in the video series. “India’s work productivity is one of the lowest in the world. Unless we improve our work productivity… we will not be able to compete with those countries that have made tremendous progress,” he said.

He pointed to the examples of Germany and Japan to drive home this point. “You know this is exactly what the Germans and Japanese did after the Second World War… they made sure that every German worked extra hours for a certain number of years,” he said.

A comparison of annual working hours per worker and labour productivity in India, Germany and Japan is presented in Chart 2. The chart shows that the average annual working hours of Germans and the Japanese peaked after the war at about 2,200 hours to 2,400 hours a year — about 8.3 to 9 hours  a day during a five-day work week without holidays. This is still 2.5 hours less than what Mr. Murthy’s envisions.

Chart 2 | The chart shows the annual working hours per worker and productivity (GDP/hour worked) in $/hour.

More importantly, as labour productivity increased in Germany and Japan, two countries that were relatively more industrialised even before the Second World War, the average working hours reduced drastically to about 1,400-1,600 hours a year by 2020 (5.3 to 6 hours a day), as shown in Chart 2. Labour productivity is measured as GDP per hour of work. India’s average annual working hours stayed above 2,000 from 1970 to 2020, while the labour productivity increased marginally from $2 per hour to $9 in the same period. So, the question is, is it better to increase working hours or to increase productivity through technology?

This is because longer work hours translates into less time for sports and leisure. As shown in Chart 3, when compared to Germany and Japan, Indians spend less time on sports and other leisure activities. Indians spend more time sleeping and doing housework than the other two nations.

Chart 3 | The chart shows the average number of hours spent on various activities per day.

While opinions are divided over Mr. Murthy’s suggestion, it is imperative to ask whether India has enough statistical tools at its disposal to accurately measure labour productivity given that 89% of the workforce is engaged in informal employment compared to just 4.2% in Germany and about 8% in Japan (Chart 4). With such a drastic difference in the nature of the labour force among the three nations, do they make for a viable comparison?

Chart 4 | The chart shows the share of informal employment in the total workforce for the latest year with data (in %)

With inputs from Rebecca Rose Varghese

nihalani.j@thehindu.co.in and vignesh.r@thehindu.co.in

Source: Time Use Survey 2019, Our World In Data, International Labour Organization

Also read | Mental health and the floundering informal worker

Listen to our podcast | How Turkey’s economic and political trajectory compares to India | Data Point podcast

Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy
| Photo Credit: Deepak KR

Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy recently said that young Indians must work for 70 hours a week. The comment has been met with support from some and criticism from others. The comments were made in the first episode of a video series published by 3one4 Capital titled ‘The Record’.

Also read | Why Narayana Murthy is wrong about the 70-hour work week 

Assuming a six-day work week, Mr. Murthy’s comment means that Indians would have to work 11.5 hours a day. How many hours does an average young Indian work at present? According to the Time Use Survey conducted in India in 2019, a person aged 15-29 spends over 7.2 hours a day in employment and related activities in rural areas and 8.5 hours a day in urban areas. A State-wise comparison of the time spent on work in urban areas, given that this figure is higher than in rural areas, is presented in Map 1. Urban Uttarakhand ranks first, with young people from the State working for an average of 9.6 hours a day, which is about two hours less than what Mr. Murthy envisions.

Map 1 | The map shows the average number of hours an urban Indian aged 15-29 spends in a day on employment and related activities

Charts appear incomplete? Click to remove AMP mode

Assuming that if people work for five days, they would have to work for 14 hours a day, a point to ponder is whether working more hours translates to better productivity. Mr. Murthy raises this point in the video series. “India’s work productivity is one of the lowest in the world. Unless we improve our work productivity… we will not be able to compete with those countries that have made tremendous progress,” he said.

He pointed to the examples of Germany and Japan to drive home this point. “You know this is exactly what the Germans and Japanese did after the Second World War… they made sure that every German worked extra hours for a certain number of years,” he said.

A comparison of annual working hours per worker and labour productivity in India, Germany and Japan is presented in Chart 2. The chart shows that the average annual working hours of Germans and the Japanese peaked after the war at about 2,200 hours to 2,400 hours a year — about 8.3 to 9 hours  a day during a five-day work week without holidays. This is still 2.5 hours less than what Mr. Murthy’s envisions.

Chart 2 | The chart shows the annual working hours per worker and productivity (GDP/hour worked) in $/hour.

More importantly, as labour productivity increased in Germany and Japan, two countries that were relatively more industrialised even before the Second World War, the average working hours reduced drastically to about 1,400-1,600 hours a year by 2020 (5.3 to 6 hours a day), as shown in Chart 2. Labour productivity is measured as GDP per hour of work. India’s average annual working hours stayed above 2,000 from 1970 to 2020, while the labour productivity increased marginally from $2 per hour to $9 in the same period. So, the question is, is it better to increase working hours or to increase productivity through technology?

This is because longer work hours translates into less time for sports and leisure. As shown in Chart 3, when compared to Germany and Japan, Indians spend less time on sports and other leisure activities. Indians spend more time sleeping and doing housework than the other two nations.

Chart 3 | The chart shows the average number of minutes spent on various activities per day.

While opinions are divided over Mr. Murthy’s suggestion, it is imperative to ask whether India has enough statistical tools at its disposal to accurately measure labour productivity given that 89% of the workforce is engaged in informal employment compared to just 4.2% in Germany and about 8% in Japan (Chart 4). With such a drastic difference in the nature of the labour force among the three nations, do they make for a viable comparison?

Chart 4 | The chart shows the share of informal employment in the total workforce for the latest year with data (in %)

With inputs from Rebecca Rose Varghese

nihalani.j@thehindu.co.in and vignesh.r@thehindu.co.in

Source: Time Use Survey 2019, Our World In Data, International Labour Organization

Also read | Mental health and the floundering informal worker

Listen to our podcast | How Turkey’s economic and political trajectory compares to India | Data Point podcast

Infosys founder Narayana Murthy recently suggested that India’s youth must work for 70 hours every week to boost the country’s overall work productivity and economy. This remark by the businessman created a stir online with a few people including JSW Chairman Sajjan Jindal supporting the idea while others also questioned the long-term health implications of having a work schedule consisting of unreasonable and extremely long working hours. Now, Edelweiss CEO and Managing Director Radhika Gupta weighed in on the matter and said that although Indian women have been working much more than 70 hours per week for decades, however, nobody has paid attention to that.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Ms Gupta said, “Between offices and homes, many Indian women have been working many more than seventy hour weeks to build India (through our work) and the next generation of Indians (our children). For years and decades. With a smile, and without a demand for overtime. Funnily, no one has debated about us on Twitter.”

Between offices and homes, many Indian women have been working many more than seventy hour weeks to build India (through our work) and the next generation of Indians (our children). For years and decades. With a smile, and without a demand for overtime.

Funnily, no one has…

— Radhika Gupta (@iRadhikaGupta) October 29, 2023

Since being shared, her post has amassed over 74,000 views. Many users reacted to her post. 

“Indian women’s tireless dedication deserves recognition,” said a user.

A second person added, “Very true. But imagine you work 70 hrs a week with all these other in house work for women. Women don’t get weekends off from house work,so there is no downtime or self care for them.”

“Even without office, women in India have been working over 72 hours a week to feed the family. In our home, preparation for the lunch will start before the last member finished the breakfast and so on. Mother was the first person to get up in the morning and last one to go to bed,” said a person.

“Well pointed,” said another person.

Another added, “Actually my husband also did a lot to bring up our son, I wasn’t the only one at home doing extra hours. Also work life in Mumbai tends to be long hours; We all have to travel long hours to work and back.”

Also Read: Edelweiss CEO Radhika Gupta Calls Mumbai Commute “Draining”, Urges For Better Infrastructure

“Until the spectre of patriarchy is obliterated, nothing will change. Even in the west, Indian women with full time jobs, are slaving at home, while the men party. I have friends like that. Until girls are treated as equal to boys from birth, nothing will change, ever,” commented a person.

Mr Murty commented about the work culture while speaking to former Infosys CEO Mohandas Pai on the first episode of 3one4 Capital’s podcast ‘The Record’. Mr Narayana Murthy drew parallels to Japan and Germany, countries that implemented the extended working hours. He also talked about other topics like nation-building, technology, his company Infosys and others.

New Delhi:

A day after Narayana Murthy suggested a 70-hour work week, JSW Chairman Sajjan Jindal on Friday threw his weight behind the Infosys co-founder. Mr Jindal believed that India’s specific circumstances, distinct from those of some developed economies, make it crucial for the country not to adopt “shorter work weeks” as the norm.

“I wholeheartedly endorse Mr Narayana Murthy’s statement. It’s not about burnout, it’s about dedication. We have to make India an economic superpower that we can all be proud of in India 2047,” Mr Jindal said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“A 5-day week culture is not what a rapidly developing nation of our size needs,” he added.

I whole heartedly endorse Mr. Narayana Murthy’s statement. It’s not about burnout, it’s about dedication. We have to make India an economic superpower that we can all be proud of. #India2047

— Sajjan Jindal (@sajjanjindal) October 27, 2023

Sajjan Jindal also went on to cite the example of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who said that he works for over 14-16 hours every day.

“Our PM @narendramodi ji works over 14-16 hours every day. My father used to work 12-14 hours, 7 days a week. I work 10-12 hours every day. We have to find passion in our work and in nation-building.” 

A 5 day week culture is not what a rapidly developing nation of our size needs.
Our PM @narendramodi ji works over 14-16 hours everyday. My father used to work 12-14 hours, 7 days a week. I work 10-12 hours everyday. We have to find passion in our work and in Nation Building.

— Sajjan Jindal (@sajjanjindal) October 27, 2023

“Our circumstances are unique and the challenges we face are distinct from the developed nations. They are working 4 or 5 days a week because their earlier generations clocked longer & more productive hours. We can’t let shorter work weeks elsewhere become our standard,” he added.

Our circumstances are unique and the challenges we face are distinct from the developed nations. They are working 4 or 5 days a week because their earlier generations clocked longer & more productive hours.
We can’t let shorter work weeks elsewhere become our standard!

— Sajjan Jindal (@sajjanjindal) October 27, 2023

India’s greatest strength is our youth, and in our journey to become a superpower, this generation has to prioritise work over leisure, Mr. Jindal said.

“As we progress, there will be opportunities for comfort, and the youth of 2047 will reap the benefits of our sacrifices and diligence,” he wrote on X.

India’s greatest strength is our youth. And in our journey to become a superpower, this generation has to prioritize work over leisure. As we progress, there will be opportunities for comfort, and the youth of 2047 will reap the benefits of our sacrifices and diligence.

— Sajjan Jindal (@sajjanjindal) October 27, 2023

Mr Jindal, however, faced backlash from X users in the comments.

A user wrote, “Would like to see you take the public commute to work and then work for 70 hours a week. What about our personal life? Should we give it up altogether? Stop using our PM’s name to further your nefarious thoughts. FYI, Indians are amongst the most overworked workforce in the world.”

Would like to see you take the public commute to work and then work for 70 hrs a week. What about our personal life? Should we give it up altogether? Stop using our PM’s name to further your nefarious thoughts. FYI, Indians are amongst the most overworked workforce in the world.

— Kiran (@iamkiran21) October 27, 2023

Someone else suggested they should receive additional pay if they must work extra hours. 

Days of earn today and live tomorrow are gone. Don’t blabber just like that. if you want employees to work more hours, link the pay to number of hours. Can’t be a one way traffic

— Pankaj Pandey (@pp479w) October 27, 2023

“Days of earning today and living tomorrow are gone. Don’t blabber just like that. If you want employees to work more hours, link the pay to the number of hours. Can’t be a one-way traffic,” another comment read.

Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy has said that India’s work culture needs to change and youngsters should be prepared to work for 70 hours a week if the country has to compete effectively on the global stage. The 77-year-old was speaking to former Infosys CEO Mohandas Pai on the first episode of 3one4 Capital’s podcast ‘The Record’. Mr Narayana Murthy drew parallels to Japan and Germany, countries that implemented the extended working hours. He also talked about other topics like nation building, technology, his company Infosys and others.

When asked about his vision for the next 10, 15 years, Mr Narayana Murthy highlighted a need to improve productivity in India and sort out the government delays.

“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,” the Infosys founder said.

“So therefore, my request is that our youngsters must say ‘this is my country. I’d like to work 70 hours a week’,” he added.

Watch the full video:

Mr Narayana Murthy then presented some historical examples – of Germany and Japan after the Second World War – to underline the critical role of discipline and enhanced productivity.

“This is exactly what the Germans and Japanese did after the Second World War… they made sure that every German worked extra hours for a certain number of years,” Mr Narayana Murthy said on the podcast.

He said it is very important for our youngsters to transform since they form a “significant majority of our population” and “are the ones who can build our country”.

“We need to be disciplined and improve our work productivity. I think unless we do that, what can poor government do? And every government is as good as the culture of the people. And our culture has to change to that of highly determined, extremely disciplined and extremely hard-working people,” Mr Narayana Murthy added.

His comments sparked a debate among users on social media.

“Agree with him… work 40 hours for your employer and 30 hours for your own interests,” commented one user.

“Completely disagree about the 70 hours a week! According to the 70 hours work week we will be the best country, but at what cost? What will that individual achieve after working 70 hours a week? Good health? Good family? Good companion? Happiness? Fulfillment? What will the individual achieve? If the individual is aiming for success after working 70 hours a week, I would like that individual to define success?” asked another.

“Then companies also need to pay on hourly basis… Indian companies won’t do that,” a third user said.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, his wife Akshata Murty. File
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

What does the British Prime Minister discuss at the dinner table with his Indian parents-in-law? Is it Indian politics or the challenges of running Britain? Neither. It’s cricket.

“The most political we tend to get is in our discussion of cricket. I’ve agreed that my daughters can support India when it comes to cricket, as long as they support England when it comes to football!” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told PTI.

Mr. Sunak’s parents, both of Indian origin, came to the U.K. from east Africa. His wife Akshata Murty is the daughter of India’s billionaire tech czar Narayana Murthy and philanthropist and educator Sudha Murty.

In an interview via email days ahead of his visit to New Delhi to attend the G20 summit on September 9 and 10, Mr. Sunak said Wednesday the response from the Indian people to his appointment as the prime minister was “overwhelming and humbling.” “I am hugely proud of my Indian roots and my connections to India. As you know, my wife is Indian and being a proud Hindu means I will always have a connection to India and the people of India,” he said.

The 43-year-old leader of the Conservative Party was first elected as an MP in 2015. He was made finance minister or chancellor of exchequer in February 2020 by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

In October last year, he became the first Indian-origin British prime minister, scripting history.

“One of the first things I did after becoming Prime Minister was to hold a reception for Diwali in Downing Street. Having the opportunity to welcome many British Indians into Number 10 and seeing the building decorated from top to bottom with lights and flowers was an incredibly proud and emotional moment for me,” Mr. Sunak said.

“Because my story is the story of so many people in Britain with deep and enduring links to India. The strength of our country lies in its diversity, and that’s something I have seen first-hand many times since becoming Prime Minister,” he said.

Asked whether he discusses Indian politics, technology or problems he faces in running Great Britain when he sits with his in-laws, Mr. Sunak said it is important to keep politics separate from family. “It’s very important to keep politics separate from family, but of course my wife and two daughters very much guide my values, as do my parents and parents-in-law.” “I am, though, incredibly proud of my parents-in-law and what they have achieved – going from nothing to building one of the world’s largest and most respected companies, which employs thousands of people in both India and in the U.K.,” he said.

“I want to create and lead a country where anyone can emulate the kind of success that they have had,” Mr. Sunak said.

“It is wonderful to be able to travel to India for the G20 with Akshata, and hopefully we will get a chance to visit some of the places we went to when we were younger – we’ll both be very busy the whole trip though!” Mr. Sunak said he is looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and deliberate on how collaboration between India and the U.K. helps in dealing with various global challenges.

“My ministerial colleagues who have visited India in the past year have all returned with a renewed enthusiasm for the UK-India partnership,” he said.

“Beyond the work of the G20 itself, it has been fantastic for so many people to see the breadth and depth of India by travelling all over the country for meetings and discovering the unique cultures on display all over India,” he added.

“When I meet Prime Minister Modi again this week it will be an opportunity to speak about some of the global challenges we face, and the huge role that the U.K. and India have to play in addressing them,” Mr. Sunak said.