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Journalism of Courage
Even since he stepped down as Infosys8217; Managing Director in 1999, Indian infotech icon and mascot, Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy, 57, is far busier than ever before in his new role as the voice of India Inc. Chief mentor of Infosys, Murthy is now the face of not only Indian infotech sector but also Corporate India.
Take for example, his stand on lack of direct flights from Bangalore to Germany or for that matter on the IIM fee cut issue. In both cases, Murthy decided to take matters in his hands rather than waiting for someone else to bell the cat.
Similarly, when alumni of IITs decided to hold a worldwide conference of all its previous students, Murthy was the one who took the mike in presence of ITC Chairman Yogi Deveshwar, former McKinsey MD Rajat Gupta, and HLL Chairman M S Banga.
The reasons: soft-spoken Murthy is respected across all age groups and even by the powers-that-be for his straight talking. 8216;8216;I am trying for the last few years to get Lufthansa to start direct flights from Bangalore to Europe. But till date no one from the Union Government even acknowledged my letter,8217;8217; said he in a rare outburst in Mumbai. Lufthansa was soon granted landing rights to Bangalore.
In fact, Murthy is taking on the issues which ideally should have been taken up by various business lobbying groups like the CII or FICCI.
8216;8216;There is no need for a fee cut. If my friend Murli Manohar Joshi wants me to quit from the IIM-A Board, I am even ready for that,8217;8217; he said in Mumbai last week. 8216;8216;Instead of reducing IIM fees, the government should concentrate more on improving the levels of primary education,8217;8217; says he. A stand which finds many takers in Corporate India. 8216;8216;I agree with Murthy that primary education should be the main focus of any government8230; not only the IIMs,8217;8217; says Banga.
Since Murthy left the reigns of Infosys8217;s day-to-day management to his managing director and CEO, Nandan Nilekani, he is, in fact, a more busy man. Last week, he flew from Bangalore to Mumbai in the morning to address journalists about why the government should not decrease the IIM fee hike; was in Chennai by afternoon to inaugurate Infosys8217; new facility alongwith Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha in Mahindra Park and was back in Bangalore by evening. What makes people 8212; from the top echelons of the government to common man 8212; listen to Murthy? His simplicity and humble approach.
In a Nasscom seminar, recalls an IT geek, Murthy was standing at the back and listening to his MD Nilekani8217;s presentation. As soon as Nilekani8217;s presentation was over, Murthy himself was seeking feedback from other delegates and mediapersons about the Infosys presentation. 8216;8216;There was no air about him. No show of authority or money. He is too down to earth 8212; this is his key to success,8217;8217; says the IT engineer.
In fact, when the market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India decided to set up a panel for recommending corporate governance norms for the entire corporate sector it asked Murthy to head it. Though Murthy came out with some far-reaching recommendations which would have made corporate transactions more transparent, business groups lobbied against some of the proposals. Now, it is upto Sebi chairman G N Bajpai and his board to take a final call on Murthy8217;s recommendations.
To all those who came in late, in fact very late, Murthy started his career in India with the recently listed Patni Computers. His love for capitalism erupted when he was jailed in Communist Hungary for 72 hours for talking in French with a suspicious co-passenger.
In 1981, he alongwith half-a-dozen colleagues walked out to set up Infosys. It came out with its first public issue of shares in 1993 8212; HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh till date admits that he made a mistake by not applying then.
Murthy is very proud about his middle-class background, growing up as he did in Karnataka hinterland. He studied for his Bachelor of Engineering from University of Mysore in 1967 and completed his M.Tech from IIT Kanpur in 1969.
