‘Narayana Murthy’s influence?’: Samir Arora suggests India can offset Trump’s tariff impact by working weekends

Samir Arora, founder of Helios Capital Management, has sparked a debate online after suggesting that India can offset the potential economic impact of Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs simply by working weekends for a few weeks.

In a tweet that quickly caught attention, Arora shared a tongue-in-cheek “thought experiment” around the effect of a 10% drop in India’s exports to the US, which currently account for around 2% of the country’s GDP.

“If they fall 10%, India loses 0.2%,” he wrote. “GDP growth is 6% odd. So to recover 0.2% should take 12 days. Can recover to pre-tariff levels by working on Saturdays and Sundays for 6 weeks. Get on it, boys and gals.”

While the post was likely meant to be a light take on economic resilience, it immediately drew reactions online — with some netizens jokingly calling it the “Narayana Murthy effect”, a nod to the Infosys founder’s recent controversial remark urging Indian youth to work 70 hours a week.

“This is fantasy math, not economics. Tariffs don’t just shave “0.2%” off GDP like a weekend of missed work. They ripple through supply chains, kill margins, erode competitiveness, hit employment in export-heavy sectors and weaken investor sentiment,” a user wrote on X, adding, “You can’t “make up” lost demand by working Saturdays. Tariffs shift trade flows permanently. GDP growth isn’t a treadmill you can just speed up! It’s built on investment confidence, credit flows and external demand. Comparing it to 12 days of overtime is like saying you can fix a heart attack by jogging faster. Should know better.”

Another user wrote, “Samir, you are getting influence by Mr NRN.”

“Narayan Murthy doctrine is becoming all the more relevant,” the third user remarked.

“If only reality was such elementary mathematics,” the fourth wrote.

“C’mon, as Murthy suggested, we could work for 70 hours in a week and achieve that. Don’t eye my weekends,” the fifth user wrote.