Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy on Wednesday said the governments needed to complete infrastructure projects on priority and that work in the industry should be done in three shifts instead of one. He said in other nations that have high aspirations, people work two shifts.
On Wednesday, Murthy was in conversation with Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath at the Bengaluru Tech Summit. Kamath asked the tech pioneer to shed some light on what Bengaluru, the center of India's high-tech industry, needed to do to become a better city in the next 5-10 years.
Murthy listed three things - English medium schools for talented resources for the city's software industry, focus on infrastructure, and quick decision-making by the government. He said Bengaluru contributes about 35 to 37 per cent of the total software exports from India. "So what it means is that you are looking at about 75 billion dollars from just Bengaluru if you look at 200 billion dollar total exports from India."
Murthy, who co-founded Infosys in 1985, said he found during his 30 years as the CEO and Executive Chairman that the maximum percentage of local people that one can employ in an industry like software service is about 60 per cent. "In Karnataka, at that point, it was about 50 per cent. Maybe in a few other states, it might have been 60 per cent. It means that the rest 50 per cent of the talent will inevitably come from other states from India, and maybe a small percentage from developed countries," he said.
"So the first task of a good public governance system for Bengaluru to become even stronger is - we have to provide a total freedom to start English medium schools," Murthy said while responding to a question on what he thinks the city is doing right and wrong.
He said he never met important people who had not sent their children to English medium schools. "They all have sent their children to English medium schools. I have not come across a person who is very important in any area, who sent his children to Kannada medium schools."
For infrastructure, the Infosys founder said the government needs to improve infra with a sense of alacrity. He cited the examples of metro construction in Bengaluru, which he thinks was going on at a slow pace. He said the construction of Bengaluru's Electronic City metro, and metro for other parts should be taken on priority.
"People in those infrastructure industries must work three shifts, they should not work just one shift...come at 11 am and then go at 5 pm. At least on the Electronic City road, that is what I see, I may be completely wrong," Murthy said. "But in other nations that have high aspirations people work two shifts. I would return around midnight (when abroad), and I have seen people working as if they are going to disappear tomorrow morning. I cannot vouch for three shifts, but I can definitely vouch for two shifts."
"We want to be better than all those countries. Why don't we say our people - work three shifts? Ask them what are their requirements to complete the stretch by their workers in three shifts - provide that. If we do that, I have no doubt that why India cannot grow faster than China," said the tech titan, whose previous comments on longer work hours had divided India Inc.
Murthy underlined that India's GDP is about $3.5 trillion while China's base is 19 trillion, but said India will catch up with China and one day hopefully it may take over. "But that requires taking quick decisions and making sure that all hurdles for entrepreneurs are removed as if there is no tomorrow."
As he talked about quick decision-making, he shared an example of China. He said in 2004, the Chinese government came to know that Infosys was looking to start a development centre in China. "The Mayor of Shanghai invited me to his house for breakfast. And he asked me, what you want. I said - I want a piece of land at right in the centre of Pudong (a district in Shanghai). I want about 25 acres."
Murthy said the mayor told him that they had identified three pieces of land. "You go and see. By tomorrow evening 5 pm, we will give you the letter of allotment and possession. And that happened."
Murthy had last month sparked a nationwide debate when he said the country's youngsters should work for 70 hours a week if they wanted to see India ahead of China in terms of GDP. He said India's work productivity was one of the lowest in the world and that the country's work culture has to change to catch up with those nations that have recorded stellar success in the last few decades.