Weighing in on the much-debated topic of work-life balance and putting in more working hours as suggested by some corporate leaders in the recent past, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra said he believed in the quality of work and not the quantity. Addressing the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue 2025 here in the national capital, Anand Mahindra, said that the ongoing debate was wrong because it emphasises on quantity of working hours. "I have huge respect for Narayana Murthy (founder of Infosys) and others. So let me not get this wrong, of course. But I have to say something, I think this debate is in the wrong direction," Anand Mahindra told the youth. "My point is we have to focus on the quality of work, not on the quantity of work. So it's not about 48, 40 hours, it's not about 70 hours, it's not about 90 hours," Anand Mahindra said. He said that it depends on the output of the work. "What output are you doing even if it's 10 hour...
Trip.com Group said on Friday it would pay 50,000 yuan ($6,897.69) to employees for each child they have starting July 1 - the first such initiative by a large private company in China as the country struggles with an ageing population.
The company, one of the world's largest online travel agencies, with 400 million users, said it would pay a parental cash subsidy of 10,000 yuan annually for five years for every child born to its employees worldwide. The programme will cost about 1 billion yuan, the company said.
"I have always suggested that the government give money to families with children, especially multiple children, to help more young people fulfil their desire to have multiple children," Trip.com executive chairman James Liang said in a statement. "Companies can also play a role within their own capabilities to build a favourable fertility atmosphere."
In the wake of a one-child policy that lasted from 1980 to 2015, demographers have warned that China will get old before it gets rich, as its workforce shrinks and indebted local governments spend more on their elderly population.
China's birth rate last year fell to 6.77 births per 1,000 people, from 7.52 births in 2021, the lowest on record.
Authorities in 2021 said couples could have as many as three children, but even during the stay-at-home COVID years couples have been reluctant to have babies.
Young people cite high childcare and education costs, low income, a weak social safety net and gender inequality, as discouraging factors.
Liang, who is also a demographer, published a book titled "Population Strategies: How Population Affects Economy and Innovation" this year and has suggested that 2% of China's GDP should be put toward encouraging fertility.
($1 = 7.2488 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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