India holidays 'too long'

Lazy days in the park could soon be a thing of the past for many Indians

Indian industrialists are concerned about the long holidays enjoyed by government workers.

They say that holiday entitlement costs the national exchequer nearly $4bn annually.

In a highly competitive global order, they believe the country can ill afford to offer its employees so much time off.

Lobby group, the All-India Association of Industries is suggesting that a spate of holidays this year could result in a loss of 27bn rupees ($620m).

A spokesman for the Confederation of Indian Industries, S Sen, is also demanding an urgent review of the number of holidays granted by the government.

He says such holidays should be kept to a minimum and that except on major festivals, only people of a specific religious group should be allowed time off.

Most of the time, employees get their salary for sitting at home. Even the working hours are less than other countries

Vijay Kalantri, President, All-India Association of Industries

Officially India has 17 national holidays and 30 restricted holidays for certain religious and regional groups.

However, there are as many as 99 other holidays, including weekends.

In addition, government employees are also entitled to sick, privileged and casual leave which can add up to almost six months out of every year.

Urgent review

This week saw three government holidays, which meant that employees enjoyed a long weekend lasting until Wednesday.

The same employees' salaries also recently rose by 12.5%. This increase was, however, not linked to any guarantee to raise productivity

Government staff could lose holidays

Lobbyists are suggesting this has created a culture of complacency among staff.

A spokeswoman for India's top trade body, the Confederation of Indian Industry, said that a review of the number of holidays on offer was urgent.

New work ethic?

Observers say that the standards set by multinational companies may bring about changes in the number of staff holidays.

Recently, one foreign bank attempted to obtain a competitive edge over its domestic rivals by persuading staff to work round the clock, 365 days a year.

Our productivity is nothing to be boasted about. The government has to review the trend and see that holidays are kept to a minimum

Spokeswoman, Confederation of Indian Industry

However, changing the current system will be an uphill task.

The announcement of holidays has traditionally been used by politicians as a means of winning the support of India's diverse communities or religious groups.