After 70-hour workweek suggestion, Narayana Murthy fires new shot: Three-shift work

After 70-hour workweek suggestion, Narayana Murthy fires new shot: Three-shift work

Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy said that infrastructure projects need to be completed by the government on priority and emphasised the requirement of three working shifts, not just one. The comment was made by the Indian billonaire while discussing the need to bring development in his home city Bengaluru in the next 5-10 years.

“Completing the Electronics City Metro and expanding to other areas, where there are a lot of companies located, must be prioritised,” said Murthy, while engaging in a fireside chat with Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath at the Bengaluru Tech Summit on November 29.

He appealed to the infrastructure industry to move ahead of the traditional one-shift. “They should not work just one shift, come 11 am and go at 5 pm,” he added.

He stated that people with ambitious aspirations generally operate on two work shifts in the country. He added that if a similar approach is embraced by India, it can surpass the growth of China. “Elsewhere in the nation with high aspirations, people work – I have seen two shifts because I would return around midnight. And I’ve seen people working as if they’re going to disappear tomorrow morning. So, while I cannot vouch for three shifts there, I can vouch for two shifts,” Murthy said.

“Now if we want to be better than all those countries, why don’t we say our people will work three shifts? Ask them what the requirements are for them to complete their work by working three shifts, and provide them with that. I think there is a little bit of these things that can be done by our leaders. And if we did that, then I have no doubt why India cannot grow even faster than China, not just in growth alone. Our base is only 3.5 trillion, whereas China’s is 19 trillion. But we will catch up with China, and hopefully, one day we can overtake China. But that requires making quick decisions, ensuring that all hurdles for entrepreneurs like you and others today, I’m not an entrepreneur, are removed as if there is no tomorrow,” he added.

Murthy’s comments spark another debate on social media

During the fireside chat, Murthy discussed English medium schools for talented resources for the software industry of the city, quick decision-making by the government and focus on infrastructure. He said that Bengaluru contributes to nearly 35-37 per cent of India’s total software exports. “So what it means is that you are looking at about 75 billion dollars from just Bengaluru if you look at 200 billion dollar total exports from India,” he added.

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The latest comments by Murthy have sparked a new debate among social media users.

“Give triple the salary other nations are giving triple the salaries,” wrote a user wrote. “Follow salary structure wise talking doesn’t make any sense,” another user said.

“With all due respect. Please stop making such irrelevant statements,” the third user added.

Earlier, another debate was sparked by Murthy on social media after he made a remark that “youngsters should work 70 hours a week if India wants to compete with economies that have made tremendous progress in the last two to three decades”.

(With inputs from agencies)