What is the Chinese 9-9-6 rule of which Narayana Murthy gave example: first advocated working for 70, now 72 hours, sparked controversy

Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy has again advocated for increasing working hours in the country. In an interview on Monday, Murthy gave the example of China’s famous ‘9-9-6 model’ (9 am to 9 pm, 6 days a week).

Murthy said, ‘If India has to progress as fast as China, the youth will have to work at least 72 hours a week.’ He said that every citizen, bureaucrat and corporate leader of the country will have to work hard for this.

Murthy further said that India has made good progress so far (economic growth of 6.57%), but needs to try harder to catch up with China. He asked the Indian youth to work hard like China.

This is not the first time that Narayana Murthy has advocated long working hours. Even in the year 2023, in a podcast, he advised Indian youth to work 70 hours a week.

After this the social media was divided into many different factions. Many youth were calling it impractical and dangerous for health, while some people also agreed with them.

Know the famous 9-9-6 rule in China…

The 9-9-6 rule has been in use for many years, especially in Chinese tech companies such as Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei and JD.com.

Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei said in a statement that “those who don’t want to do 9-9-6 can leave the company.” The staff was pressurized to do double the work for the same salary.

Due to this, the startup did not need to hire a large team of expensive engineers. Due to continuous overtime, depression, anxiety, lack of sleep became common among employees.

Many youth died suddenly. In view of the increasing tension, in the year 2021, the Supreme Court of China declared it illegal. Still, many companies have been secretly following it.

Murthy had said – Need dedication like PM Modi, work 100 hours a week

Earlier, Murthy had said in 2024 that the people of the country should change their attitude towards work. He mentioned his own schedule. It also said that PM Modi is working 100 hours a week. The citizens of the country should also dedicate like him.

Narayana Murthy said 4 things in favor of increasing working hours-

Stayed in controversies by advising to work 70 hours a week

October 2023: In 2023, Narayana Murthy had advised the youth of the country to work 70 hours a week. He had asked the youth to work hard to make India a global leader.

December 2024: Murthy had said that we have to keep our aspirations high, because 800 million (80 crore) Indians get free ration. This means that 800 million Indians are in poverty. If we are not in a position to work hard then who will work hard?

Narayan Murthy had attended the Kilachand Memorial Lecture organized by the Indian Merchants Chamber (IMC) on January 20. He advocated doing 70 things.

80% employees do not want to stay in office contact after working hours

Even after office working hours, 88% of Indians remain in constant touch with their office in some way or the other. Global job matching and hiring platform Indeed had conducted a survey from July to September 2024. According to this-

‘Right to Disconnect’ policy is not applicable in India

‘Right to Disconnect’ policy is not yet implemented in India. However, Kerala is moving towards becoming the first state in India to give employees the legal right to completely disconnect from the office after their shift is over.

Under the Right to Disconnect Bill 2025, an employee can ignore emails, calls, messages or meeting requests coming from the office after the end of the shift.

This bill of Kerala was first introduced in September 2025. It is being reviewed and is awaiting committee approval and voting.

Why is such a law needed?

The purpose of this law is to create a balance between work and personal life, so that employees can be free from the stress of always being on call.

The Center for Future Work’s 2022 report found that 71% of employees worked more than their scheduled hours. About one-third of the people reported being surrounded by excessive fatigue and anxiety. More than a quarter of people said that it was affecting their personal relationships.

A study by WHO-ILO has listed India as one of the most affected countries for deaths due to overwork. Indian workers often work 10-11 hours a day without overtime payment.

What is work-life balance?

Work-life balance means striking a healthy balance between work and personal life (family, health, friends, hobbies, leisure).

So that a person neither gets tired easily due to work nor lags behind in his career due to personal life. According to WHO and ILO, having a good work-life balance:

Narayana Murthy in 1981 founded Infosys

Narayana Murthy founded Infosys, India’s second largest tech firm, in 1981. From then till 2002 he was the CEO of the company. After this, he was the Chairman of the Board from 2002 to 2006.

In August 2011, Murthy retired from the company with the title of Chairman Emeritus. However, once again he entered the company in 2013 as executive chairman. During this time, his son Rohan Murthy was working as his executive assistant.

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Japan’s new PM is working 18 hours a day: called a meeting at 3 in the morning, asked to work like a horse; Will the culture of death from overwork return?

In Japan, after the new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called a meeting at 3 pm, the debate on work life balance has again intensified in the country. Takaichi has been in the news for his “work, work, work and only work” attitude since day one. Read the full news…