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On a sweltering Tuesday, over 25,000 job seekers reportedly descended upon <keyword id="19895282" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mumbai" source="keywords">Mumbai</keyword>’s Kalina for a walk-in interview hosted by <keyword id="22441082" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Air-India-Airport-Services-Ltd" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Air India Airport Services Ltd" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Air India Airport Services Ltd">Air India Airport Services Ltd</keyword>. The company had advertised 2,216 vacancies for the handyman position, a role requiring various repair and maintenance tasks. Despite the limited number of openings, the sheer volume of <keyword id="20595636" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="applicants" source="keywords">applicants</keyword> led to chaos, highlighting the fierce competition for <keyword id="19898684" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="employment" source="keywords">employment</keyword> in the region. The scene outside the <keyword id="19930602" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="recruitment" source="keywords">recruitment</keyword> office quickly turned chaotic as thousands jostled for a chance at the job. To prevent a <keyword id="21446700" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="stampede" source="keywords">stampede</keyword>, officials asked applicants to submit their resumes and leave, promising to review all submissions and contact eligible candidates for further steps. Despite the physical demands of the job, including heavy lifting and operational tasks, the role's salary, ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per month, with potential earnings exceeding Rs 30,000 through overtime, drew a massive crowd. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111786792" title="Time for a govt job? Karnataka announces impressive 27% pay hike for state employees" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>George Abram, General Secretary of the <keyword id="22441084" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Aviation-Industry-Employees-Guild" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Aviation Industry Employees Guild" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Aviation Industry Employees Guild">Aviation Industry Employees Guild</keyword>, criticised the disorganised recruitment process. "People came for thousands of vacancies. They brought demand drafts, but we told them not to pay anything yet and that they would be called in later," Abram stated. He claimed that up to 50,000 job seekers might have turned up, though the official count was about 15,000. The incident underscores the acute joblessness and the desperate measures people are willing to take to secure employment, even in physically demanding roles. The minimum qualification for the positions was a 10th-grade pass, and the age limit was capped at 23 years. <h2>Similar instances in the past</h2>This chaotic scene in Mumbai is not an isolated incident. Similar situations have occurred in other parts of India, reflecting the broader employment crisis. On July 9, a comparable incident unfolded in Gujarat when around 1,000 people showed up for walk-in interviews conducted by a private firm for just 40 vacancies at Ankleshwar. The chaos resulted in the collapse of a ramp railing, though no injuries were reported. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111789866" title="The top reasons job applicants say they ghost prospective employers in the hiring process" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>In another instance, a video from Pune showed over 3,000 engineers lining up for a walk-in interview aimed at filling junior developer positions. The overwhelming response for approximately 100 vacancies highlighted the intense competition in the IT sector. These instances paint a grim picture of the employment landscape in India. The overwhelming response to job vacancies, whether in manual labour or skilled sectors, indicates a significant gap between job availability and the number of job seekers.

Mumbai job frenzy: 25,000 applicants show up for job interview with Rs 20,000 salary, cause stampede-like situation

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Indian economy has grown strongly under Narendra Modi, whose party is set to win another term.</li><li>India's success has caught the eye of figures including Elon Musk, Jamie Dimon, and Tim Cook.</li></ul>India's powerful economic growth and blossoming middle class under Narendra Modi have caught the eye of corporate titans like Elon Musk, Jamie Dimon, and Tim Cook.Modi is pretty much a shoo-in for a third term as prime minister after the national election now underway ends on June 1. But the work starts there, as he'll have to navigate thorny issues such as youth unemployment, income inequality, and reliance on sanctioned Russian oil.<h2>Fueling growth and shaking hands</h2>India's economy has more than doubled in size during Modi's decade in charge to more than $3.7 trillion last year.The International Monetary Fund (IMF) <a target="_blank" href="https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2024/04/29/asias-growth-and-inflation-outlook-improves-but-risks-remain">recently upgraded</a> its growth forecast for real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to a robust 7.8% this year, 6.8% in 2025, and 6.5% in 2026.India has already overtaken Britain to become the world's fifth-largest economy. It's on track to leapfrog Japan and Germany into third spot behind the US and China by 2027.The country's flagship stock index has also tripled in value since Modi took office in May 2014, thanks to wealth gains and growing investment appetites.Moreover, <a target="_blank" href="https://sbi.co.in/documents/13958/36530824/270224-HCES_Feb24.pdf">one estimate</a> puts the percentage of the Indian population living on less than $2.15 a day at below 5%, down from 12% in 2011. However, the <a target="_blank" href="https://pip.worldbank.org/country-profiles/IND">World Bank</a> pegged that figure at nearly 13% in 2021.India's middle class has also ballooned with 60 million people now earning the rupee equivalent of more $10,000 a year — about $37,200 once adjusted for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/profile/IND">purchasing power</a>. Goldman Sachs <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/indias-affluent-population-is-likely-to-hit-100-million-by-2027.html">expects</a> the ranks of the relatively affluent to swell to 100 million by 2027."Modi has done an unbelievable job in India," JPMorgan's Dimon <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jpmorgan-jamie-dimon-economy-inflation-recession-stagflation-geopolitics-crypto-bitcoin-2024-4">told</a> the Economic Club of New York last month. "I know the liberal press here, they beat the hell out of him. He's taken 400 million people out of poverty."Musk has <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1781541775183610310">posted</a> on X that he's looking forward to visiting India and meeting Modi this year. He delayed his trip last month, blaming "very heavy Tesla obligations." The pair are expected to discuss Tesla building a multibillion-dollar factory in the country.As for Apple's Cook, he hailed India on a November earnings call as an "incredibly exciting market" and a "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-tim-cook-obsessed-india-consumers-iphone-2023-7">major focus of ours</a>" given the explosive growth in potential customers as locals get richer.<div type="image" title="Sundar Pichai, Tim Cook, Narendra Modi, Joe Biden" height="3907" width="5861" msid="109838230" hostid="261" sizebytes="846512"></div>Modi has also met with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Microsoft boss Satya Nadella, and Alphabet's Sundar Pichai. He's likely to be seeking to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in India — and to capitalize on bosses' <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-china-relations-reshoring-manufacturing-jobs-made-in-america-2023-10">desire to hedge their bets on China</a> given its strained relationship with the US, economic woes, and how disruptive its strict pandemic lockdowns were to global supply chains."India's population and economic growth numbers are causing a lot of global executives to revisit their India presence and consider scaling up," Richard Rossow, a senior advisor and chair in US-India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic &amp; International Studies, told Business Insider."Paired with increased concerns about supply chain resilience and security concerns about China, it's a very good time for a hard push to win investments."The United Nations said that India and China both had a population of 1.426 billion in April last year, meaning India is probably now the most populous given its rising birth rate.<h2>Change for the better — mostly</h2>Modi has instigated a raft of major economic reforms since taking office, intended to make India more business-friendly, and boost government revenues by taxing more of the country's vast informal economy.He rolled out a tax on goods and services, simplified bankruptcy laws, lifted FDI restrictions, cut corporate income tax, and ended retrospective taxation.However, not all of Modi's moves spurred growth."Demonetisation was a key economic policy which had negative effects on the economy," Kunal Sen, a director of the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics, told BI.Sen is the author of several books about India's economy and a professor of development economics at the University of Manchester.He was referring to Modi's sudden declaration in November 2016 that all 500 and 1,000-rupee bills — 86% of Indian currency in circulation — would <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-ending-500-and-1000-rupee-bills-to-fight-corruption-2016-11">no longer be accepted as legal tender</a>.The government's goals were to capture undeclared income, get rid of counterfeit currency, broaden the tax base, and bring more activities into the formal economy."The other key economic policy was JAM — the trinity of bank accounts for the poor, mobile numbers and a biometric card. This last economic policy has been revolutionary," Sen said.He was hailing a broader digitization drive under Modi that has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/how-indias-digital-payments-ecosystem-has-evolved-in-the-last-one-year/slidelist/90595832.cms">transformed</a> how Indians bank, invest, pay their taxes, and conduct business.<h2>Prosperity for all</h2>Modi's efforts have helped to usher in a more prosperous era for some Indians, but many have been left behind.Young people are India's beating heart, with about half its population under 25 and almost two-thirds under 35. Matching those hundreds of millions of people with jobs has proven a challenge, with youth unemployment almost tripling from below 6% in 2000 to about 18% in 2019. It still stands at a hefty 10% in 2023, per the <a target="_blank" href="https://webapps.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---sro-new_delhi/documents/publication/wcms_921154.pdf">International Labor Organization</a>.The report found that nearly 30% of India's graduates were unemployed in 2022, and only about 10% of the working-age population was formally employed.<div type="image" title="A farmer uses oxen to plow fields for lentils in Nimaj, Rajasthan, northern India." height="3464" width="5196" msid="109838232" hostid="261" sizebytes="690700"></div>"Unemployment is a big issue," Rossow said, emphasizing this isn't just a problem with recent graduates but a "much, much larger bubble: the underemployed farm laborers."Rising agricultural productivity is likely to help farm workers make a faster transition to city life in the years ahead, but they'll struggle to secure modern jobs in the services industry "without significant reskilling and education," Rossow said.As a result, lower-skilled manufacturing and assembly jobs and lower-end services jobs will be needed, he added.Another major challenge will be tackling a widening wealth divide. The richest 10% of the population hold more than 72% of the nation's wealth, per an Oxfam report <a target="_blank" href="https://d1ns4ht6ytuzzo.cloudfront.net/oxfamdata/oxfamdatapublic/2023-01/India%20Supplement%202023_digital.pdf?">published</a> last year.Business tycoons Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani both rank among the world's 15 richest people, per the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/">Bloomberg Billionaires Index</a>. Luxury-goods sales are booming with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.carwale.com/news/mercedesbenz-lineups-waiting-period-reduced-in-india/">long waitlists</a> for flashy purchases like the Mercedes "G Wagon."<div type="image" title="The Ambani family onstage with Rihanna." height="854" width="1280" msid="109838233" hostid="261" sizebytes="99148"></div>The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/anant-ambani-pre-wedding-festivities-lack-empathy-india-radhika-merchant-2024-3">lavish pre-wedding party</a> thrown by the Ambani family earlier this year was singled out by some as an affront to the huge number of Indians living in poverty.Almost 1.3 billion people live on less than $3,500 a year by one estimate, and India ranks 111th on the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.globalhungerindex.org/ranking.html">Global Hunger Index</a>, below even North Korea.Rising equality is partly explained by a "capital-intensive mode of economic growth along with increasing power of business conglomerates," Sen told BI, referring to how huge companies like the Adani Group secure huge government contracts to build ports, bridges, highways, and other infrastructure.A third challenge is regional inequality, as some states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh haven't experienced the same growth and modernization of their economies as others, Rossow said.<h2>The Russia riddle</h2>One striking aspect of Modi's economic boom has been its reliance on Russia since it invaded Ukraine in early 2022.India went from getting 2% of its crude oil from Russia before the war, to 35% last year. During that period, the US and Europe slapped sanctions on Russian oil to defund Putin's military machine and punish Moscow for attacking a sovereign nation.Despite that, India purchased an estimated $37 billion of Moscow's oil in 2023 — 13 times the amount it bought annually prior to the conflict. Its buying helped Russia rake in a <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/russia-economy-oil-sales-india-ukraine-war-moscow-western-sanctions-2024-2">record $320 billion</a> of federal revenue last year.Indian demand for Russian oil has <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/russia-oil-trade-crude-india-discount-barrel-sanctions-price-cap-2024-2">cooled</a> in recent months as new sanctions have made it <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/russia-economy-oil-energy-exports-india-imports-revenue-sanctions-discount-2024-3">more expensive</a>, but the buying remains controversial.Officials in India have <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/crude-oil-prices-india-russia-trade-geopolitics-opec-supply-puri-2024-2">defended</a> the purchases, saying that if they'd bought Middle Eastern oil instead, global crude prices would have shot up.India is also one of the world's largest oil refiners and has helped Western nations to maintain access to refined petroleum products even as they're refraining from buying Russian crude directly.Yet the country imports 85% of its oil, so its overriding interest is securing the cheapest oil possible to support its development, said Neelima Jain, a senior fellow and chair in US India Policy Studies at CSIS."India will continue to buy Russian oil if the price remains favorable and allows for firm volume guarantees, as the country prioritizes energy affordability and accessibility during its rapid rural-to-urban transition, which has led to a 6% year-on-year growth in energy demand," she told BI."In an inflationary environment, economics [rather] than geopolitics will drive India's energy choices."<div type="image" title="Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin" height="3196" width="4714" msid="109838234" hostid="261" sizebytes="426292"></div><h2>India the IT hub</h2>Under Modi, India has made big strides in modernizing its economy, combating bureaucracy, and appealing to foreign investors.Big Tech stalwarts like Microsoft have a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-has-so-many-patents-its-outsourced-the-job-to-india-2013-5">long history</a> of outsourcing to India, but recent efforts to cut red tape and slash corporate taxes appear to have fueled fresh interest.Sweeping layoffs at Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Salesforce and other US tech titans in the past few years could presage a large exodus of jobs to India.Sanjay Shetty of Randstad India <a target="_blank" href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/outsourcing-hubs-like-india-to-bag-40-of-jobs-lost-to-layoffs/articleshow/101088673.cms?">told The Economic Times</a> last summer that he expected 30% to 40% of the tech jobs eliminated globally to move to India by 2025."India is going to be the biggest gainer in the medium to long term, as almost every company that we speak to is looking at expanding its India base," Shetty said.Even if that pans out, it won't be a panacea for a country facing not just unemployment and underemployment, but also stark income inequality, regional disparities, and the risk of alienating Western allies by continuing to buy Russian oil.Yet overall, India appears to be headed in the right direction."The growth is real, if focused on a few key states," Rossow said. "India's dynamic technology services sector is to IT services what China is to manufacturing. So there is much to cheer, even as the reform agenda seems to never end."

Tech titans love Modi's economic powerhouse India — despite mass unemployment and abject poverty 

The Indian <keyword id="21219153" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="employment-market" source="keywords">employment market</keyword> is projected to experience a 6.33% incremental expansion over the first half of FY 2024-25, according to a report by TeamLease. The report highlighted that 56% of employers expect their workforce to grow, 21% anticipate a decline, and 23% believe their workforce size will remain unchanged. The report provided a detailed analysis of the <keyword id="21680463" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indian-job-market" source="keywords">Indian job market</keyword> across 23 industries and 20 cities. It highlighted workforce expansion trends, emphasizing the impact of <keyword id="20509550" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="economic-conditions" source="keywords">economic conditions</keyword>, organizational dynamics, skill shortages, and <keyword id="20358462" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="technological-advancements" source="keywords">technological advancements</keyword> on hiring strategies. The growth in the employment market is attributed to the favourable economic conditions in the country, including a nearly 7% GDP growth forecast for 2024 by most global rating agencies, which would make India the fastest-growing G-20 nation. Strong investment demand, peaking headline inflation, and a greater emphasis on technology and skills by employers are also key factors. In terms of cities, Delhi, Bangalore, and Hyderabad emerged as the top cities with the highest proportion of employers expanding their workforce sizes. These cities attract businesses due to their established infrastructure, large talent pools, and economic vitality. The consistent preference for these major cities underscores their significance as job concentration hubs, despite the growing trend of expansion into new locations. These urban centres play a strategic role in driving employment growth and economic development in India. The report also noted that nearly two out of five organizations are focusing on bridging skill gaps, highlighting a shift towards a more adaptable and skilled workforce in preparation for technological advancements and new skills. The report said that Generative AI (<keyword id="19949719" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="GenAI" source="keywords">GenAI</keyword>) is particularly noteworthy, as it has the potential to transform key business processes, impacting workforce dynamics and reshaping talent management. In response, 35% of surveyed organizations reported significant changes in their talent acquisition strategies to integrate advanced AI technologies. On the unemployment front, the report stated out that a significant portion of the unemployed workforce, nearly 83%, consists of youth aged 15-29. Over the past two decades, there has been a significant increase in the educational attainment of these unemployed youths. The proportion of those with at least secondary education rose from 35.2% in 2000 to 65.7% in 2022, indicating a rising educational profile among the unemployed. However, the national <keyword id="20054242" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="unemployment-rate" source="keywords">unemployment rate</keyword> has progressively decreased, falling to 3.1% in 2023 from 3.6% in 2022 and 4.2%in 2021. The unemployment rate in urban areas also decreased from 7.2% to 6.5% for persons aged 15 years and above between October-December 2022 and October-December 2023. The <keyword id="19913761" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gig-economy" source="keywords">gig economy</keyword> in India is experiencing rapid growth, with the number of gig workers projected to rise from 7.7 million in 2020 to 23.5 million by 2029-30, demonstrating a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of almost 12%. The distribution of gig work across skill levels includes 47% in medium-skilled jobs, 22% in high-skilled jobs, and 31% in low-skilled jobs, highlighting the diverse opportunities within this sector. In the media &amp; entertainment industry, digital transformation and changing consumer preferences are driving 48% of employers towards <keyword id="22204807" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="workforce-growth" source="keywords">workforce growth</keyword> in the first half of FY 2024-25. However, the other half of the industry faces turbulence and uncertainty.

Maximum employers expect their workforce to grow in first half FY 2024-25, says Teamlease report

Former <keyword id="19904807" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Haryana" source="keywords">Haryana</keyword> Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh <keyword id="20201620" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="hooda" source="keywords">Hooda</keyword> on Tuesday said that <keyword id="19934969" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="farmers" source="keywords">farmers</keyword>' plight, <keyword id="21440881" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Agnipath" source="keywords">Agnipath</keyword>, <keyword id="19916979" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="unemployment" source="keywords">unemployment</keyword>, <keyword id="19938433" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="law-and-order" source="keywords">law and order</keyword>, and <keyword id="19895000" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="inflation" source="keywords">inflation</keyword> were key issues which the ruling <keyword id="19894848" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="BJP" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="BJP" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="BJP">BJP</keyword> failed to address. As the <keyword id="19895371" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Congress" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Congress" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Congress">Congress</keyword> appeared set to wrest five Lok Sabha seats from the ruling BJP in Haryana, Hooda said that he had been saying "there is a wave blowing in favour of the Congress". "You asked me about exit polls predicting most seats to the BJP, to which I said wait for the actual poll results on June 4," the Congress veteran said. Haryana is known for "jai jawan, jai kisan, jai pehalwan". "But what did they (BJP) do. They brought Agniveer (Agnipath scheme), which faced opposition from the youth. They did not redress farmers' issues. And everyone knows the treatment that was meted to our wrestler daughters, who had to protest (at Delhi's Jantar Mantar)," he said. Hooda said that unemployment increased in the state during the BJP rule while the law and order situation also deteriorated. He claimed that the Congress' performance in the <keyword id="19912155" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha-polls" source="keywords">Lok Sabha polls</keyword> in the state will have an impact on the Vidhan Sabha elections, which are due in October. "This is clear indication that people of Haryana have made up their mind to bring the Congress to power in the Assembly polls," Hooda claimed. Referring to the Lok Sabha polls, Hooda said people have supported the Congress. The Congress leader said that he had been maintaining that BJP will be "wiped out in south, halved in north" "Look at Haryana and Rajasthan...People have given us good support," he added. On the BJP's claims that NDA will win 400 seats this time, Hooda said, "I had been saying that it was a mere slogan. In Haryana too, in the 2019 Assembly polls, the BJP had given slogan of 'Abki baar 75 paar' (claiming to win 75 of the 90 seats). Everyone knows how many seats they later won. (BJP had won 40 seats)." Hooda said that he had maintained that it will be a direct fight between the Congress and BJP in Haryana in the Lok Sabha polls. "I had been repeatedly saying that it is going to be a direct fight between the Congress and BJP. And that has been proved," said Hooda. "The people have rejected the 'vote katu' (vote cutters) outfits," he added referring to the JJP and INLD. Going by the trends available late afternoon, the Congress appeared on course to win Ambala, Hisar, Rohtak, Sirsa and Sonipat seats. The grand old party had contested nine of the ten Lok Sabha seats leaving the Kurukshetra seat to its INDIA bloc ally AAP. AAP's Sushil Gupta, was, however, behind BJP's Naveen Jindal from the seat.

BJP failed to address key issues like inflation and unemployment, says Bhupinder Hooda

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The death of a 26-year-old EY employee has triggered a conversation about India's work culture.</li><li>The employee's family says that she was overworked — and that it reflects a wider problem.</li></ul>Fourteen-hour work days, meetings during vacations, and no overtime.To some, this may sound like a job from hell. But for many employees in India, it's just another working day.India has one of the toughest work cultures in the world. In 2022, according to the most recently available data from the <a target="_blank" href="https://ilostat.ilo.org/topics/working-time/#">International Labour Organization</a>, the average employee in India worked 46.7 hours a week, compared to about 38 in the US.Not only are employees in India working long hours, but many are also doing it under intense pressure."The pressure is very, very high," Jennifer Hephzibah, a senior HR professional in India, told Business Insider. "If you don't deliver it at a particular time, you either lose your bonus, or you lose your job. It doesn't matter what you're going through otherwise."A Boston Consulting Group <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bcg.com/publications/2024/india-hr-revolution-building-workplaces-for-the-future&amp;sa=D&amp;source=docs&amp;ust=1727195342438866&amp;usg=AOvVaw366N6_QMHZIy6fbfnMv__Y">survey</a> of 11,000 workers in eight countries in October 2023 found that 58% of Indian respondents reported feeling burned out — the highest share of any of the countries, including the US (50%), the UK (47%), and Japan (37%).<h2 id="56dd16d5-8f41-4ab5-aad1-efb517f1a780">'Glorifying overwork'</h2>This always-on culture has come under the spotlight recently following the death of an EY employee, Anna Sebastian Perayil, in July.Peryail's father, Sebastian Perayil, told<a target="_blank" href="https://www.thenewsminute.com/news/what-action-will-ey-take-anna-sebastians-father-speaks-to-tnm"> The News Minute</a> that he believed his daughter died of a combination of health issues, including work stress and acid reflux which triggered a lack of sleep. The official cause of Perayil's death, however, remains unclear."Anna was unable to sleep on most days and couldn't eat on time," he told the publication. "After a whole night of work, she would have to wake up at 7:30 the next morning and repeat the same cycle."According to<a target="_blank" href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/maharashtra/mother-pens-letter-following-death-of-26-year-old-daughter-due-to-work-stress-urges-ey-chairman-to-reflect-on-toxic-work-culture/article68656957.ece"> The Hindu</a>, Perayil's mother emailed Rajiv Memani, the chairman at EY India, in the wake of Perayil's death, saying her daughter had collapsed four months into the job after struggling with "the workload, new environment, and long hours."She also accused EY of "glorifying overwork."EY told BI it was "taking the family's correspondence with utmost seriousness and humility" and called Perayil's death an "irreparable loss."<h2 id="0e580f7b-a1b5-40de-bcd5-4c5e1cd9f1da">A 70-hour workweek</h2>Concerns about India's workplace culture are not new.Last year, the software billionaire and Infosys founder Narayana Murthy sparked controversy after saying that young people in India should be willing to work 70 hours a week to help the country progress."India's work productivity is one of the lowest in the world," he told<a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES8ZNSTswrs"> The Record</a>, going on to say that unless India improved several factors including its work productivity, "we will not be able to compete with those countries that have made tremendous progress.""So, therefore," he continued, "my request is that our youngsters must say: "'This is my country. I'd like to work 70 hours a week.'"The comments appear to reflect wider expectations in India, even among employers with head offices elsewhere.Kavach Khanna, a former EY analyst in India, told BI that he believed he was expected to do more work than his US colleagues."We used to talk to colleagues in the US in the same roles, and their experience was completely different from ours," Khanna said. "They would get to go for client meetings, leave the office on time, no stretched workdays, and they weren't overburdened like we were."EY did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<h2 id="c34411b0-4cf7-4ac6-b8b5-d828d78369df">Cost centers and cheap labor</h2>Huge multinational companies, such as EY, Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Accenture, have set up cost centers in India.These centers, also called Global Capability Centers (GCCs), manage everything from cyber security to product development. They can also manage human resources and accounting.They are cheaper to run in India due to lower labor costs, and they help companies tap into a wide and hungry pool of tech-savvy, English-speaking talent.An <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-sites/ey-com/en_in/topics/consulting/gcc/2023/06/ey-future-of-gccs-in-india-a-vision-2030.pdf">EY report in 2023 </a>projected that India is set to host at least 2,400 such centers by 2030, with a market value of more than $100 billion.An associate at the Indian office of a multinational banking and advisory firm told BI that even at his Western company, he believed Indian employees were expected to work longer and harder.He said 16- to 18-hour workdays — including some weekends — were normal in his job."A lot of multinational corporations use India as a cost center because of the cheap labor," said the associate, who wanted to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. "Offices in other countries have boundaries and then dump their extra work on us."Jeanie Chang, an executive coach who specializes in workplace mental health, said she had noticed such a trend, too. "It definitely exists that multinational companies tend to think, 'We love that the Indians work hard, so let's keep doing that.'"Chang also noted that some Asian communities place a cultural importance on work ethic that can lend itself to exploitation."There's a word in Japanese and Korean," Chang said, "that literally means 'overworking yourself to death.' That should say something."<h2 id="799c5726-4028-4993-85d3-1175f4f96f4d">Fear of replacement</h2>So what is stopping employees from demanding change?Part of it might come down to competition. In 2022, <a target="_blank" class="" href="http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/India%20Employment%20Report%202024.pdf">according to the India Employment Report 2024</a>, India's youth made up nearly 83% of the country's total unemployed population. With <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thehindu.com/business/budget/68432023-Economic-Survey-2023-24-Complete-document">India's workforce</a> thought to number well over 500 million, each job counts.Hephzibah, the senior HR professional, said that the sheer number of available workers has contributed to a feeling that employees are expendable, and has held them back from saying no to unreasonable demands for fear of losing their jobs.Perayil's mother's email, for instance, said her daughter "did not know how to say no.""She was trying to prove herself in a new environment, and in doing so, she pushed herself beyond her limits," the email said,Hephzibah said this was especially true for younger workers, who may not have enough experience to become critical within the company yet."In the bigger companies," she said, "if you don't deliver, that's it: You're replaced."<h2 id="76d9e66d-7e50-4929-bb3f-86da08d669dd">Cultural differences</h2>Chang told BI that she's had Indian employees point out their lack of resources compared to international peers in the same company."They tell me, 'Jeanie, we don't have effective mental-health resources, but we hear the US does,'" she said.In a<a target="_blank" href="https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx"> Gallup State of the Global Workplace report</a> published in 2024, only 14% of the roughly 2,262 Indian employees surveyed said they were thriving at their workplace, compared with 34% of the 128,278 employees surveyed globally.Hephzibah, who has worked in both Indian-owned and multinational companies, told BI that multiple colleagues had left or requested transfers outside India in recent years — mainly because of the work culture.She also found cultural differences when conducting training sessions for employees in India and the US.When implementing the Indian training schedule for one company's American employees, Hephzibah faced pushback on issues like late session timings."They said, 'We're not going to work after 6 and they could clearly call it out without feeling bad," Hephzibah said. "The problem in India is that people get scared to speak up because their jobs might be impacted."<h2 id="c1e23a63-b3a5-4dfe-9fda-a228d77f5f16">The way forward</h2>In Hephzibah's opinion, overtime and vacation policies need to be strictly enforceable in India."Outside, we're very careful to communicate that we care because they have legal backing to sue," she said. "Over here, that entire system is missing."She agreed with Chang that effecting systemic change would also be up to the leaders and middle management, and not just down to a country's laws."What is the leadership believing in? Is leadership overworking?" Chang said. "Because if they are, they're going to overwork their employees."

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