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Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy has a suggestion to offset the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus blockade: Indians should be working for at least sixty hours in a week for the next two to three years.
Murthy was addressing a virtual audience of industry executives and entrepreneurs at ET Unwired, an event hosted by Economic times when he said this During his speech, Murthy said that India cannot maintain such a prolonged blockade situation and that very soon the number of deaths caused by famine will exceed Covid-19 deaths.
At the event, Murthy also said that at least 9 million people die in India each year, and if you compare that to the number of deaths caused by Covid-19, there is little reason to panic.
As of now, India has crossed over 35,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and more than 1,100 deaths.
Murthy also spoke at length about the impact of the blockade on industries and how if this continues, most Indians would find themselves out of work in the near future.
In addition to suggesting that people should work more than 60 hours a week, Murthy also recommended that offices should consider introducing shifts to maintain social distancing in the workplace.
However, not everyone is happy with the recommendation. Most people across the country, regardless of sector, have been working from home during the shutdown. And while that’s not always a bed of roses, people are really working hard (and often overtime) to ensure productivity isn’t affected.
There was some appreciation for his suggestion of extra time.
Some pointed out that the Indians already work so long.
I think he is not aware of or just ignores basic reality,
More than 70% of people work in unorganized sectors, and work more than 60 hours a week, without FP or social security.
I’m not even counting people who work as farm labor or rickshaw shooters. https://t.co/irvaXCrVTC
– NewAgeIndian (@TheNewAgeIndian) May 1, 2020
#narayanamurthy You should be ashamed to think of Indians working 60 hours a week … where IT folks are already stressed out with 45 hours / week and forgot about the suicides that occur in their own company. # You should be ashamed #infosys – Who_Cares (@FaiZe_shaikh) May 1, 2020
Mr. Murthy: “He works 60 hours a week” Consultants: “Who are these people who did not work 60 hours before?” Work- “Aao kabhi haveli pe” Farmers- “Cute” – Sagartumsathho (@chholekulchey) May 1, 2020
Some of them had other suggestions for Mr. Murthy.
Maybe wealthy CEOs and presidents should work 75 hours a week. So they can pay their employees for 60. – Vir Das (@thevirdas) April 30, 2020
#Narayanamurthy You should pay 60% additional tax over the next 3 years to revive the economy. And also stop the exploitation of workers. Bloody capitalist – Roberto Carlos (@UP_Bihar) April 30, 2020
I have a better Murthy solution. India’s top 63 billionaires have more wealth than the Union Budget for 2019. And the top 1% of India owns 58% of India’s wealth. Redistribute your wealth to revive the economy. 99% win and lose only 1%. You are part of that 1%. https://t.co/Vbp6RihB0S – Advaid (അദ്വൈത്) (@Advaidism) April 30, 2020
Because it is #Narayanamurthy taking like a GDP economist? There are many types of tech billionaires. Stealthy Bill Gates dude, Foolhardy Elon Musk dude, and Indian penny pinch, Murthy dude looking for rents. – Dinesh Mahapatra (@ DineshM90) May 1, 2020
Meanwhile, some came to Murthy’s defense.
The amount of hatred that Narayana Murthy is receiving for suggesting longer work weeks is baffling.
What happened to the concept of freeing our animal spirits and working harder to make up for a financial setback? Isn’t that how capitalism works? Isn’t that how wealth is created? 1 / n
– Yatin (@VaadaVivaada) April 30, 2020
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