Indians must work hard to achieve the ambitious target of making India a USD 30 trillion economy by 2047, former Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has said.
Joining the ongoing debate on working hours, India’s G20 Sherpa said Japan, South Korea and China have achieved economic success through a strong work ethic and suggested that India must cultivate a similar mindset to build a world-class economy.
“I strongly believe in hard work. Indians must work hard, whether it’s 80 hours or 90 hours a week. If your ambition is to move from a USD 4 trillion to a USD 30 trillion economy, you can’t do it through entertainment or by following the views of some film stars,” he said while speaking at Business Standard’s Manthan summit.
Currently, the size of the Indian economy is around USD 4 trillion.
“We have made it fashionable to talk about not working hard. Why? India must work hard to deliver projects ahead of time, with world-class excellence, without time and cost overruns,” he added.
Responding to a question on work-life balance, Kant emphasised that there is enough time for personal well-being within a disciplined work schedule.
“I work every day. I exercise. I play golf, and I still manage to work hard. Keep aside one-and-a-half-hour for yourself, and you still have 22.5 hours in a day. There’s plenty of time to manage work-life balance, but don’t make it fashionable to say people shouldn’t work hard,” Kant said.
He also asserted that Indians must learn the art of delivering projects with world-class excellence without time and cost overruns.
“We are all sending wrong messages to the young generation of India that India can become a great nation without working hard. No, no country has been able to do this,” Kant said.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Chairman SN Subrahmanyan in January sparked an online outrage with his comments, advocating a 90-hour work week and suggesting that employees should even give up Sundays.
“How long can you stare at your wife,” he was heard saying in a purported video address to employees where he urged them to spend less time at home and more in the office.
His remarks have reignited the work-life balance debate, first triggered by Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy’s suggestion of a 70-hour workweek.
“I regret I am not able to make you work on Sundays. If I can make you work on Sundays, I will be more happy because I work on Sundays,” Subrahmanyan was heard saying in an undated video circulating on social media.
“What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife? How long can the wives stare at their husbands? Come on, get to the office and start working,” he had said.
“India’s work productivity is one of the lowest in the world…my request is that our youngsters must say, ‘this is my country, I want to work 70 hours a week’,” Murthy had said.
