India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is facing heavy criticism after telling business leaders that India gets more foreign investment than countries like Pakistan because Indian workers never stop at five o’clock and never ask for weekends off.
“Indians want to work hard. Nobody in India will tell you it’s five o’clock. And certainly no Indian will ever remind you it’s the weekend,” Goyal said while addressing the India-Netherlands Business Forum in The Hague on October 27, in a video clip that has since gone viral.
He added that India offers “economies of scale” that would help businesses grow “into a dimension you probably can never even imagine.”
Goyal Was Pitching India to Dutch Investors
Goyal made the remarks during a visit to Germany and the Netherlands aimed at attracting investment. He co-chaired the business forum, which was attended by around 200 business representatives, and met executives from ASML, Nexperia, Power2X, and IKEA’s parent Ingka Group.
He urged Dutch companies to “invest, co-manufacture and co-innovate in India” in sectors such as manufacturing, renewable energy, semiconductors, green hydrogen, logistics, and food processing.
India has been pushing hard for European investment, and is also set to gain EU trade benefits that could come at Pakistan’s expense.
Overworking?
The comments triggered a strong backlash on Indian social media. Many Indians accused the minister of selling Indian workers as cheap, servile labor rather than skilled professionals.
“A minister just pitched Indian workers as people who have surrendered the right to rest,” one user wrote on X, pointing out that the International Labour Organization ranks India among the world’s most overworked nations.
Congress leader Karti Chidambaram called Goyal’s remarks as “ridiculous to tout our lack of professional work hour boundaries as strength.”
The minister’s remarks have reignited India’s long-running debate on work-life balance.
In 2023, Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy drew similar criticism for urging young Indians to work 70 hours a week, while L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan later called for 90-hour weeks, including Sundays.
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