Murthy’s vision for India

MUMBAI: 'If India wants to become a developed nation by 2020, gaining expertise in IT alone will not help. Instead we should focus more on developing manufacturing and services like healthcare, hospitality and education,” commented the Infosys chief NR Narayana Murthy while delivering the keynote address in the Gartner Annual Summit 2003 in Mumbai. The development achieved in IT can however be a good example for the other sectors to follow.

Murthy suggested that during the next five years IT in India should concentrate more on enhancing individual productivity as well as productivity at home, instead of only increasing office productivity. This could be achieved thanks to the increasing computing power, and advent of new technologies like broadband and nanotechnology. All this would ultimately lead to a growth of ubiquitous computing that would ensure better productivity at home.

Murthy also stated that for every Indian enterprise to operate at the highest level of productivity, it is imperative to have lesser people produce more wealth. While in the short run this might mean loss of some jobs, increasing wealth creation in the long run would definitely ensure more job creation.

The Infosys chief also defended the decision of major Indian software companies to continue to have an export focus instead of looking at the domestic market. “Every company will try to maximize revenues and profits, and G-7 countries provide better opportunities to do so. At least the top 20 companies should continue to focus on these markets, while other smaller, niche players can have a look at the domestic front,” he said.

He also stressed the need for greater foreign direct investment (FDI) into the IT sector in India. “FDI is definitely more important than portfolio investment, as it builds more equity and consequently this builds greater confidence. However, for this to happen there is an urgent need to create better roads, hotels, building structures, etc. as well as improve power conditions,” he added. He also requested the government to reduce control on the IT sector since that is directly hampering the flow of more FDI into India. Instead, the government should divert these funds into segments like rural healthcare and rural infrastructure.

Regarding the BPO industry’s apprehensions on entry of more MNCs, Murthy felt this would only help us by enabling us to adopt better practices like HRD. “And if we cannot fight the MNCs in our own backyard, what chance we have of fighting them in their backyard?” he said.

(CNS)