Who marks 70 hours in India? The data reveals the hardest and fewer workers groups

In the midst of the storm caused by the impulse of some corporate leaders in India for a 70 -hour work week, a new perspective has emerged. Dr. Shamika Ravi, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, has published a document that deepens how much the Indians really work.

Based on data from the 2019 time use survey by the Ministry of Statistics and Programs Implementation (MOSPI), its analysis, entitled Time dedicated to activities related to employment in India: a note, reveals critical knowledge about the work culture, productivity and economic disparities. .

How much do the Indians work?
The Indians already dedicate an average of 422 minutes per day (around 42 hours per week) to paid work. But this average hides strong contrasts between regions and demographic data:

• Urban workers record 469 minutes a day (7.8 hours), surpassing their rural counterparts, which averaged 399 minutes (6.65 hours).
• Government employees work 45 minutes less per day compared to those of private or public corporations. In particular, urban government workers dedicate an hour more to work than their rural counterparts.

Work culture in all states and sectors
Dr. Ravi’s article highlights the surprising disparities in work hours between states and industries:

• Union territories such as Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli report more than 600 minutes of daily work. On the contrary, Goa and the northeast states have an average of less than 360 minutes, Delhi with 8.3 hours and Goa with only 5.5 hours.
• The workers of the tertiary and secondary sectors work significantly more hours than those of the primary sector. However, Goa’s primary sector opposes this trend with comparatively higher working hours.

Social and gender gaps
The study reveals marked differences in work patterns according to gender and social groups:

• Urban women work two hours less a day than men, while rural women are 1.8 hours behind their male counterparts.
• Registered tribes report less hours than other groups, while other backward classes (OBC) are aligned with the national average.

Hours of work and economic growth
Dr. Ravi’s analysis underlines the connection between working hours and economic productivity. A 1% increase in working time is linked to a 1.7% increase in the Net state internal product (PENS) per capita. For the largest states, this impact is even stronger: an increase of 3.7% in the NSDP for each 1% increase in working hours.

The reality of the 70 -hour work weeks
Currently, Gujarat has the highest proportion of its population (7.21%) that works more than 70 hours per week, compared to only 1.05% in Bihar. These figures, together with significant differences between sectors and demographic data, raise important questions about whether it is practical, or even fair, a unique impulse to achieve longer jobs.