Rishi Sunak’s father-in-law has sparked a backlash after suggesting young people should work a 70-hour week in India.

Bangalore-based billionaire Narayana Murthy gained the support of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after he suggested young Indians should increase their working hours to boost the country’s productivity and compete with larger economies.

However, trade unions have said increasing India’s working week, which is currently 48 hours, would lead to workers being exploited.

Mr Murthy told a podcast that India’s 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.

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

India has a relatively young population with a current median age of 28.4

‘High relevance’

Mr Murthy cited Germany and Japan, saying that after the Second World War these countries made citizens work extra hours to boost the economy.

According to a survey carried out in 2019, those aged 15-28 spend 8.5 hours a day in work in urban Indian areas and 7.2 in rural.

The BJP said it holds Mr Murthy’s remarks in “high relevance”, adding that India’s young workers are needed to create a “burgeoning startup ecosystem”.

“For a developing nation with a strong emphasis on startups, this viewpoint holds merit. Young professionals, in this realm, often prioritise dedication over work-life balance,”  said Krishna Rao, chief spokesperson of the BJP.

Trade unions said, however, that Mr Murthy’s suggestion would harm the most vulnerable.

“It is only a thinly veiled endorsement of more inhuman exploitation of the Indian working class. Forcing employees to work longer hours would not only lead to physical and mental exhaustion but also infringe upon their fundamental rights,” said Sooraj Nidiyanga, general secretary, Karnataka State IT Employees Union.

In Murthy’s home state Karnataka, the labour laws applying to those working on factory floors were recently amended to allow 12-hour shifts capped at a 48-hour week, beyond which companies need to pay overtime pay.

India would be bucking the global trend if it increased its work week, said Satyanand Mukund, general secretary of the All-India Trade Union Congress.

“An eight-hour workday is sacrosanct and has been hard-earned globally. Now the trend across the world is towards shorter workdays, not longer. In the state, the erstwhile BJP government brought in the amendment stretching work hours on factory floors to 12 hours and the Congress promised to revert it to eight hours in its manifesto but hasn’t done so yet after coming to power,” said Mr Mukund.

However, he added that, barring a handful of factories, most had not opted not to introduce a 12-hour day.

‘Pushing women out’

Natasha Ramarathnam, who works in gender equality, said: “With this statement, Mr Murthy is essentially pushing women out of the workplace. Men are never going to share the load of housekeeping, caregiving and childrearing. With a 70-hour work week, women will have no choice but to drop out.”

Mr Rao said the critics of Mr Murthy’s stance tend to be those in their middle age or approaching retirement, seeking a greater work-life equilibrium. “It’s essential to note that this perspective doesn’t equate to exploitation but reflects generational differences,” he said.

Narayana Murthy, 77, co-founded Infosys in 1981, leading it to become one of India’s and the world’s most successful IT companies. He started with a small investment of around £100 from his wife, Sudha Murty, and ultimately achieved a market capitalisation of over $85 billion.

His daughter, Akshata Murty and Rishi Sunak met at Stanford University, where they were both studying. They married in 2009 and have two daughters, Anoushka and Krishna.