Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has asked the state’s government employees to put in an extra hour of work each day, arguing that the additional effort would sharpen administration and help the government raise the revenue it needs for welfare schemes.
Making the appeal at an event in Hyderabad, the chief minister linked the request to the state’s finances. More hours at the desk, he suggested, would mean faster file movement, quicker clearances and stronger public services, which in turn would generate more funds for welfare programmes and for employees’ own benefits. He cast the move less as a demand and more as a partnership between the government and its workforce.
To accompany the appeal, the government announced a sweetener. Officials said the state has signed memorandums of understanding with several banks to provide accident insurance cover for all government employees, a category that the government stressed would include contract and outsourcing staff, not only those on regular rolls.
The inclusion of contract and outsourcing workers is significant. These employees often fall outside the safety nets that permanent staff enjoy, and any formal insurance cover marks a step toward bringing them into the fold. For a workforce that has long pressed for better protections, the announcement is likely to be welcomed.
The request for an extra hour, however, is more likely to divide opinion. Employee unions have historically been quick to resist anything that resembles a longer working day without matching pay, and some are expected to ask why the burden of boosting revenue should fall on staff rather than on administrative reform or better tax collection.
The chief minister has been defending several of his government’s signature efforts in recent weeks, from the Hyderabad Metro expansion to the contentious Musi river project, against opposition attacks. The productivity appeal slots into a broader message that the state must work harder and smarter to fund its commitments.
Whether employees embrace the extra hour or push back, the announcement signals how closely the government is watching its revenue position. By pairing a request for more work with a new insurance benefit, Revanth Reddy appears to be testing how far goodwill can carry a politically sensitive ask.
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