Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy’s 70-hour work week comment has sparked a huge debate online. Mr Murthy made the remark on a podcast hosted by former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai.  

Now, days after the interview, Mr Pai has shared “interesting data”. He added that NR Narayana Murthy’s “advice was for youngsters.” The data talks about how many hours each week do urban men between the age group 15 and 59 work? The illustration also featured India’s map along with region-wise data. As per the illustration, the Indian average stands at 61.6 hours per week. The source of the data was Time Use Survey (2019). 

Mr Pai said, “Interesting data! This is for all ages. NRN advice was for youngsters, people below 30! Prosperity needs hard work, data shows.”

Interesting data! This is for all ages. NRN advice was for youngsters, people below 30! Prosperity needs hard work, data shows pic.twitter.com/15j6nCd9uA

— Mohandas Pai (@TVMohandasPai) October 28, 2023

NR Narayana Murthy, on the first episode of  3one4 Capital’s podcast ‘The Record’, said, “India’s work productivity is one of the lowest in the world. Unless we improve our work productivity, unless we reduce corruption in the government at some level, because we have been reading, I don’t know the truth of it, unless we reduce the delays in our bureaucracy in taking this decision, we will not be able to compete with those countries that have made tremendous progress.”

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

Giving an example of how other nations have enhanced their productivity, Mr Murthy said, “This is exactly what the Germans and Japanese did after the Second World War…they made sure that every German worked extra hours for a certain number of years.”

Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia will remain in jail for six more months as the Supreme Court today refused him bail in the Delhi liquor policy case. A money trail of Rs 338 crore has been established in the case, the court noted and ordered that the trial be completed in 6-8 months.

Mr Sisodia can apply for bail again if the trial proceeds slowly, said a two-judge bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti.

“We have referred to the arguments and some of the legal questions but we have not answered most of them. In the analysis, there are certain aspects which are doubtful regarding the transfer of Rs 338 crore transfer is established. We have rejected the bail,” said Justice Khanna.

BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said the Supreme Court denying bail to Mr Sisodia makes it clear that the AAP leadership is involved in corruption. “Arvind Kejriwal will certainly be arrested because the AAP leadership is involved in corruption,” said Mr Tiwari.

Mr Sisodia, top aide of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, was arrested in connection with the alleged liquor scam in February and has been in jail since.

He faces two cases – one each by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the other by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), but denied any wrongdoing.

Mr Sisodia, who was the Deputy Chief Minister in Kejriwal government at the time of his arrest, resigned from the cabinet on February 28. He was handling 18 portfolios at the time, including the Excise Department.

The AAP had earlier said Mr Sisodia’s arrest was an “attack on the Delhi model of governance”.

Matthew Perry, known for his iconic character Chandler Bing in the superhit sitcom Friends, died at the age of 54 on October 28. The actor was found unresponsive in a hot tub. The first responders found Mr Perry unconscious and were unable to revive him. Mr Perry, in an interview last year, spoke about how he wanted to be remembered after his death. The actor stated that he wanted to be remembered for something other than the fan-favourite sitcom.

“I would like to be remembered as somebody who lived well, loved well, was a seeker. And his paramount thing is that he wants to help people. That’s what I want,” he said in the Q With Tom Power podcast in 2022. 

During the height of his success, Mr Perry battled for years with addiction to painkillers and alcohol and attended rehabilitation clinics on multiple occasions. He detailed his harrowing journey in his memoir ‘Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing’. 

Following a jet ski mishap in 1997, he developed a Vicodin addiction and underwent 15 days of rehabilitation in 2001. Later, he converted his old Malibu house into the Perry House, a sober living facility. Mr Perry informed that he was clean in 2021 and claimed that he had spent $9 million on the same.

He added, “The best thing about me, bar none, is that if somebody comes to me and says, ‘I can’t stop drinking, can you help me?’ I can say ‘yes’ and follow up and do it. When I die, I don’t want Friends to be the first thing that’s mentioned. I want that to be the first thing that’s mentioned. And I’m gonna live the rest of my life proving that.”

However, Mr Perry did acknowledge that he was aware that his legacy would probably not extend beyond the highly successful show. “When I die, I know people will talk about Friends, Friends, Friends. And I’m glad of that, happy I’ve done some solid work as an actor, as well as given people multiple chances to make fun of my struggles on the world wide web,” he wrote. 

“But when I die, as far as my so-called accomplishments go, it would be nice if Friends were listed far behind the things I did to try to help other people. I know it won’t happen but it would be nice,” ‘The Odd Couple’ star concluded. 

Mr Perry dedicated his memoir to “all of the sufferers out there,” and wrote in the prologue, “I should be dead”. He added, “People would be surprised to know that I have mostly been sober since 2001. Save for about sixty or seventy little mishaps over the years.”