The Hindu : IT marathon should go on: Murthy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 01, 2004

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IT marathon should go on: Murthy

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR, FEB. 29 . The IT pioneer and chief mentor of Infosys Technologies Limited, N.R.Narayana Murthy, has predicted next generation Indians scaling greater heights in software technology at the global level. The coming generation would consolidate the gains made at present, he said even as he visualised a major role for the sector in the country's economy in the coming days.

Delivering the 12th Khailshanker Durlabjhi Memorial Oration, instituted after the late philanthropist-jeweller, here on Saturday, Mr. Murthy said the country had done well for itself in information technology during the past decade but still it remained a "toddler'' in the IT world with a mere 2 per cent global market share. "It has been a decade of outstanding success but we have a long way to go,'' he noted.

"We should not be complacent. The beauty of this marathon is that it is not going to end at 42nd km,'' Mr.Murthy said. "We have to be humble about our achievements and should learn from others,'' he said. The software exports in the country grew by 45 per cent last year while the software industry itself registered a growth of 30 per cent. "We have come a long way,'' he said dwelling on the theme, "Vibrant software industry in India''.

Referring to the decadal growth, Mr.Murthy noted that in 1991 India had only 23 Fortune 500 companies outsourcing their software requirements in India against the present number of 320. India exported its software to 100 countries and has a 15 per cent share in the world in customerised application of software. "The rapid growth has been spurred by globalisation'' he noted.

However, Mr.Murthy said there was a need for the Indian software industry to enhance its focus on the customers. "We are facing competition from China, the Philippines and the Far East European countries. China is progressing very fast. It is imperative that we continue to increase our competitiveness,'' he said.

As for the disquiet in certain developed countries over outsourcing, Mr.Murthy said it would be a short-term phenomenon. "It is an open economy for the world. We should not make much noise about this. Let us be quiet and confident in the end of the day. We have the data and facts with us,'' he observed.

Mr.Murthy, who lamented the uneven spread of telephone as well as internet facilities in the Indian countryside, said the IT industry would have to take all sections of society with it in its march forward. "It cannot be solely for the middle class and the rich leaving out the poor,'' he warned. It should not be for the urban population alone. "There is a need to bring the poorest of the poor and the rural children into this,'' he said.

The country had to take care of its spread of English learning and make sure the availability of cheaper PCs. There was a need for creating more centres of higher learning and for improving the local language content in the software, he said suggesting an action plan.

Mr.Murthy stressed on the role of private sector in creating infrastructure for higher education and improvement in the standards of the teaching staff. "The quality of teaching in the sector is abysmally low. Most of the teachers cannot compete with their students,'' he noted.

Mr.Murthy, who went around Avedna Ashram, the hospice for the terminally ill and day care facility for the elderly, run by the Santokbha Durlabhji Trust earlier during the day, was hailed as a role model for a new generation of Indian entrepreneurs by Rashmikant Durlabhji, one of the trustees at the outset of the oration.

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