Narayan Murthy backs 72-hour work week call for Indian youth:Infosys founder advises adopting China’s ‘9-9-6’ rule; know about the rule

Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy has once again emphasised increasing working hours. In an interview on Monday, Murthy cited China’s “9-9-6” rule as an example. Murthy said, “If India wants to progress as rapidly as China, young people will need to work at least 72 hours a week.” He added that every citizen, bureaucrat, and corporate leader in the country will have to put in the effort. He further said that India has made good progress so far (with an economic growth of 6.57%), but extraordinary efforts are needed to catch up with China. Murthy urged Indian youth to work as hard as their Chinese counterparts. This is not the first time Narayana Murthy has advocated long working hours. In 2023, he had also advised Indian youth in a podcast to work 70 hours a week. Following this, social media was divided into several camps. Many young people called it impractical and harmful to health, while some agreed with his view. Know about the famous 9-9-6 rule in China The 9-9-6 rule was followed for many years especially in Chinese tech companies like Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei and JD.com. In this, employees were made to work from 9 AM to 9 PM. Also, they only got one day off per week. Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei had stated that, “Those who don’t want to do 996 can leave the company.” Staff was pressured to do double work for the same salary. This meant startups didn’t need to keep large teams of expensive engineers. Constant overtime led to depression, anxiety, and sleep deprivation becoming common among employees. Many young people died suddenly. Seeing the rising stress, China’s Supreme Court declared it illegal in 2021. Still, many companies continue to follow it secretly. Murthy had said : Need dedication like PM Modi, who works 100 hours per week Earlier, Murthy had said that the people of the country need to change their attitude towards work. He mentioned his own schedule. He also said that PM Modi is working 100 hours a week. Citizens of the country should show the same dedication as him. Narayana Murthy made 4 points in favor of increasing working hours Remained in controversy for advising to work 70 hours a week October 2023: In 2023, Narayan Murthy advised the country’s youth to work 70 hours a week. He asked young people to work hard to make India a global leader. December 2024: Murthy had said that young people need to understand that we have to work hard and work towards making India number one. We need to keep our aspirations high because 800 million (80 crore) Indians get free rations. This means 800 million Indians are in poverty. If we are not in a position to work hard, then who will work hard. Most employees don’t want to stay in touch after work A survey by global job platform Indeed (July–September 2024) found that 88% of Indians stay in contact with work even after office hours. Key findings: 8 out of 10 employees support a ‘Right to Disconnect’ policy, which would allow workers to completely disconnect from office calls, emails, and messages after work. Currently, India does not have this law, but Kerala is moving towards it. Kerala’s Right to Disconnect Bill 2025 allows employees to ignore emails, calls, messages, and meeting requests after their shift ends. The goal is to balance work and personal life and reduce stress. The bill was introduced in September 2025 and is under review. Why is this law needed? What is Work-Life Balance? Work-life balance means keeping a healthy balance between work and personal life (family, health, friends, hobbies, rest). It helps a person: About Narayana Murthy ​