Infosys' Narayana Murthy urges entrepreneurs to be 'evangelists of capitalism' for poverty alleviation

Infosys founder Narayana Murthy on Wednesday said the key to alleviating poverty in any country lies in capitalism, built on the twin pillars of a free market and entrepreneurship, calling on entrepreneurs to assume the role of "evangelists of capitalism".

In a fireside chat with Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath at the Bengaluru Tech Summit, Murthy shared insights from his formative years and experiences that led to his steadfast belief in the efficacy of capitalism for poverty alleviation.

During the discussion, Murthy reflected on his ideological shift from a leftist perspective, shaped by his upbringing in a family influenced by Jawaharlal Nehru's socialist ideals.

“As a student I was a strong leftist, because my father was a high school teacher, we were eight children, and he was a great admirer of Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru believed in socialism. Every day, we were fed a very staple diet of socialism,” he said.

He recounted his transformative experience in 1970s France, where the prosperity and efficiency he witnessed challenged his preconceptions about socialism.

“When I went to France, my whole edifice of socialism crumbled because I saw clean roads, prosperity, advanced trains running on time, lots of food, well clothed and healthy people. I was [then] transformed to a confused leftist to a determined and compassionate capitalist,” Murthy said.

Emphasising on the twin pillars of free market and entrepreneurship, Murthy said: "I believe that capitalism based on the twin pillars of free market and entrepreneurship is the only solution to any country to solve the problem of poverty. There are no other 'isms'. What you need is free markets where government doesn’t interfere with entrepreneurship, where government goes out of its way to encourage entrepreneurs to run their enterprises legally and ethically, so government becomes a fair and transparent regulator.”

Murthy urged entrepreneurs to recognize their role as "evangelists of capitalism" and stressed the need for a paradigm shift in India's business ethos. “Entrepreneurs have to bring fairness, transparency and accountability to running their enterprises. They have to ensure that when they take decisions they have to look at whether the poorest or lowest level employee in the company is made better by the decision they take. They have to pay their taxes honestly. They have to contribute a certain percentage of their profits for the betterment of the society. They have to become an integral part of the society to lift the society to a higher level. That’s what I term compassionate capitalism,” he said.

“Compassionate capitalism is the only solution for a poor country like India to become a prosperous country, not socialism, not communism, none of them," he added.