Kunal Shah said that most Indian languages do not have words for efficiency and productivity
Nityananda Misra, a self-taught Sanskrit scholar has recently released a video debunking Shah’s statement
Nityananda said that there are several English words that have acquired new meanings for new concepts.
IN A VIRAL VIDEO, Kunal Shah, CRED Founder and newly-appointed CEO of WhatsApp said that most Indian languages do not have words for efficiency and productivity, during the Groww India Investor Festival in May 2026. His old video resurfaced online in which he is saying that AI may hit the kind of jobs that were outsourced to India before it hits higher-complexity roles. Shah said that most Indian languages do not have words for efficiency and productivity at the summit.
Nityananda Misra, a self-taught Sanskrit scholar and a finance professional based in Mumbai, has recently released a three-minute-long video debunking Shah’s statement in the investor summit that took place in May 2026. Misra cites where and how Indian languages have had concepts and words for efficiency and productivity by going to etymological roots.
Misra said while debunking Shah’s statement, “No. There are many such words and Indians value time.” He further said that he found faults with the core Indian DNA and Indian languages because of his own limited knowledge of the history of the two words.
There are several English words that have acquired new meanings to describe different concepts. The English word ‘Efficiency’ dates to the late 16th century, but it basically means the power to accomplish something. Later on, the word ‘Efficiency’ came to mean accomplishing work in less time and labor. On the other hand, the English word ‘Productivity’ meant the capacity to produce something.
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In the late 19th and early 20th century, the word productivity meant the rate of output per unit of input. The usage of words like efficiency and productivity is modern in the context of time management.
According to Manhendra Chaturvedi’s Hindi-English Dictionary and Hardev Bahri’s Leaner’s Hindi-English Dictionary, the Hindi word for efficiency includes ‘Karyakushaltaa, Shamtaa, Dakshtaa, and Nipuntaa.’ The Hindi words for productivity are ‘Utpadakta, Utpadita, and Uvartha.”
Misra ended the video by citing Kabir, ‘kal kare so aaj kar, aaj kareso ab, palame parale hoyagi, bahuri karega kab’ means (Do tomorrow's work today, and today's work right now; for in a moment, the end may come—when will you do it then?)
Kunal Shah shared his insights on productivity, time management, and the impact of Artificial Intelligence and social media in an evolving future. “A lot of the jobs that were outsourced to India are actually significantly more likely to get impacted versus the jobs that were not outsourced to India,” WhatsApp CEO said in the summit.
He gave the example of journalism, where work that was earlier assigned to juniors is now handled by AI tools. He said the basic task-oriented jobs are the most vulnerable to being automated by AI tools. He suggests that the difference between those who build wealth and those who do not often lies not in access to resources, but how they are allocating their attention and time.
The new global CEO of WhatsApp, Shah predicted that college graduates will face an uphill battle, wondering how many years they must study just to survive in the job market and to stay qualified for a job when basic tasks are being handled by machines and AI tools.
As the internet is celebrating Kunal Shah's remarkable entrepreneurial journey, his old video commenting on how AI is leading the job market sparks debate. Kunal’s journey is an inspiration to many, from working at a call center in his early career to building successful startups. During a summit, CRED founder’s old video sharing his opinions on wealth creation and productivity has gone viral.
The video clip has gained fresh attention on social media platforms. In the video, Shah argues that while technology has given people unprecedented access to information and opportunity, it has not automatically made them more productive.
(Edited by Harsh Pandey)
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