Dec 16, 2024 05:21 PM IST
Narayana Murthy emphasises the need for a strong work ethic among young Indians, advocating for a 70-hour workweek to improve the nation’s status
Narayana Murthy, the co-founder of Infosys, has justified his statement about a 70-hour workweek. Murthy said young people need to understand that “we have to work hard and work towards making India number one”.
Narayana Murthy made the remarks while speaking at the centenary celebration of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in West Bengal’s Kolkata, a city he called “the most cultured place in the entire country.”
“At Infosys, I said we will go to the best and compare ourselves with the best global companies. Once we compare ourselves with the best global companies, I can tell you we Indians have a lot to do. We have to set our aspirations high because 800 million Indians get free ration. That means 800 million Indians are in poverty. If we are not in a position to work hard, then who will work hard?” an NDTV report quoted Murthy as saying at the event.
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Murthy recalled his past as a Leftist during Jawaharlal Nehru’s tenure as prime minister and the establishment of the Indian Institutes of Technology, which inspired him to pursue entrepreneurship.
“My father used to talk about the extraordinary progress that was happening in the country at the time and we were all sold on Nehru and socialism. I had the opportunity to work in Paris in the early 70s and I was confused. The West was talking about how filthy and corrupt India was. In my country there was poverty and the roads had potholes,” Narayana Murthy said.
“There (West), everyone was reasonably prosperous and trains ran on time and I thought this can’t be wrong. I met the leader of the French Communist Party and he answered all my questions, but not to my satisfaction,” he added.
Narayana Murthy said he came to see that a nation can only combat poverty by generating employment that result in disposable money. “I realised the only way a country can fight poverty is by creating jobs that lead to disposable incomes. The government has absolutely no role in entrepreneurship. I also realised entrepreneurs build a nation as they create jobs, they create wealth for their investors and they pay taxes,” he added.
“Therefore, if a country embraces capitalism, it will create good roads, good trains and good infrastructure. In a poor country like India where capitalism had not taken roots, I realised if I had to come back and experiment in entrepreneurship, then we have to embrace compassionate capitalism,” Murthy stated.
He claimed that he always looked forward to visiting Kolkata. “In some way, this is the most cultured place in the entire country. When I think of Kolkata, I think of Rabindranath Tagore, Satyajit Ray, Subhash Chandra Bose, Amartya Sen and a host of other personalities.”
“I am very proud of the culture of our country which goes over 4,000 years. It shows how unbelievably generous this culture was… Embrace compassionate capitalism. It is practicing capitalism while combining it with the best aspects of liberalism and socialism so that this country stands steadily as a stellar example of capitalism,” Murthy stated.
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