‘I am a Compassionate Capitalist,’ Says Infosys Founder Narayana Murthy After Receiving ‘Amrit Ratna’ from News18

The only way to remove poverty is by creating jobs that pay well and this is possible only through entrepreneurship, IT giant Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy told News18 on Tuesday, August 2. Calling himself a ‘compassionate capitalist, Murthy said he wanted to prove his point and that was how Infosys was born.

The Infosys founder was on Tuesday felicitated with the News18 India Amrit Ratna Samman, the first edition of an annual celebration of path-breaking Indian icons. Addressing the event, Murthy said, “When I was working in Paris during the early 70s, I was transformed to a determined, compassionate capitalist. I wanted to conduct an experiment to prove that the only way a country can remove poverty is through creation of jobs with good income and this is possible only through entrepreneurship. My first company Softronics was a failure and Infosys was the second.”

On being asked if the government’s lack of attention to and expectation from the IT industry was a catalyst in the success of Infosys, the company’s founder said that he did not quite agree to the statement. “I would say that in the 30 odd years of the industry, both the politicians and the bureaucrats have been very active encouragers and active catalysts of the progress that the industry has achieved. whether it was tax exemption, creating the first communication stations, or removing the licensing the government has played a very important role and for that I would definitely remain ever grateful to the successive governments of the day, including the current government,” he said.

“No country can make impressive strides in any industry unless there is a very harmonious relationship among the entrepreneurs and businesses on one hand and the politicians and bureaucrats on the other hand,” Narayan Murthy added. “In this case it is very true and I am very, very grateful to the governments,” said the Infosys boss.

Murthy received the News18 Amrit Ratna Samman  virtually at a grand ceremony scheduled held on August 2 at the Taj Palace in New Delhi. The first edition of the Amrit Ratna Samman saw the honour being conferred on luminaries from diverse fields at a day long, glittering ceremony. The list of honourees includes NR Narayana Murthy, Rajinikanth, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Dr Naresh Trehan, Adar Poonawalla, PT Usha, Tesy Thomas, Bachendri Pal and Pankaj Tripathi.

The channel aims to establish the Amrit Ratna Samman as an annual celebration of the achievements of Indian icons who have path-breaking accomplishments to their name across different fields and have made the country proud.

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