Indians must work 72-Hour Per Week, Narayana Murthy asks Indians to Follow China’s 9-9-6 Model

Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy has once again given a statement about increasing working hours in India. In an interview on Monday, he referred to China’s “9-9-6” rule as an example.

Murthy said, “If India wants to progress as fast as China, young people need to work at least 72 hours a week.” He added that every person in the country — including citizens, government officials, and corporate leaders — must work harder. He said that India has made good progress so far, with an economic growth rate of 6.57%. But he believes that extraordinary efforts are needed to compete with China. Murthy urged Indian youth to work as hard as workers in China.

This is not the first time Murthy has spoken about long working hours. In 2023, he advised young Indians in a podcast to work 70 hours a week. His comments led to mixed reactions on social media. Many young people said the idea was unhealthy and unrealistic, while some agreed with him.

Earlier, Murthy had said that people in India need to change their attitude towards work. He gave his own example and also said that Prime Minister Modi works 100 hours a week. He added that citizens should show a similar level of dedication. Now he is back with 9-9-6 Rule.

Let’s understand what is 9-9-6 Rule?

The 9-9-6 rule was common for many years in Chinese tech companies such as Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei, and JD.com. Under this rule, employees worked from 9 AM to 9 PM, six days a week, with only one day off.

Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei once said, “Those who don’t want to do 996 can leave the company.” Employees were pressured to do double the work without any increase in salary.

The Dark Reality

Because of this system, startups did not need to hire large, expensive engineering teams. But employees suffered from depression, anxiety, and lack of sleep. Some young employees even died from overwork. Seeing the rising mental and physical stress, China’s Supreme Court declared the 9-9-6 system illegal in 2021. However, many companies still follow it secretly.

About Narayana Murthy

• He founded Infosys in 1981, which is now India’s second-largest IT company.
• He was CEO from 1981 to 2002 and chairman from 2002 to 2006.
• He retired in 2011 as Chairman Emeritus, but returned in 2013 as Executive Chairman. His son, Rohan Murthy, worked as his executive assistant during this period.

Narayana Murthy’s four points in support of longer working hours:

• He said he worked 14 hours a day, six and a half days a week. He was disappointed when India shifted from a 6-day work week to a 5-day week in 1986.
• If India wants to succeed globally, Indians must be ready to work harder.
• Even the most intelligent people cannot succeed without consistent hard work.
• When PM Modi works 100 hours a week, citizens should also work extra hours to help India progress.

Past controversies related to his “70-hour work week” advice

October 2023: Murthy advised India’s youth to work 70 hours a week, asking them to work hard to make India a global leader.
December 2024: He said young people must understand that India needs hard work to become number one. He added that since 800 million people receive free rations, this shows how much poverty exists. If the working population refuses to work hard, he asked, then who will?