India working without a leader: Azim Premji

BANGALORE, INDIA: Wipro chairman Azim Premji maintains a stoic silence most of the time. When he breaks it, he cuts loose.

At the analyst meet here on Monday, he didn't mince words, as he stated that we are working without a leader as a country. "If we do not change, we would be down for years," he didn't conceal his indignation.

Recently, the World Bank cut India's growth forecast to 6.9 per cent in 2012-2013, due to the country's monetary policies, stalled reforms, electricity shortages and fiscal, inflation concerns.

Although it is not the first time that Premji has voiced out his opinion on governance, or the lack of it, he has come out strongly against the leadership now. At Wipro's quarterly results announcement last October, he lamented that there was complete absence of decision-making among leaders in the government and that it would affect the country badly.

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The Wipro chairman is not alone in saying so, as Infosys co-founder and chairman emeritus N.R. Narayana Murthy has also commented on the government's inaction on certain counts, reflecting the overall view of the industry.

"There was a lot of confidence that India would indeed do whatever was necessary because the person who was the face of economic reforms in 1991 is our current Prime Minister. In the opinion of foreign well-wishers of India, we have reached our nadir since 1991," he had stated.

As is the industry trend, Wipro also continued with its cautious outlook on the current macro environment, and indicated slow demand in its banking and financial services vertical at the analyst meet.