Narayana Murthy, Co-Founder of Infosys, took to the stage at the Kalichand Memorial Lecture in Mumbai to share his personal journey and vision on ‘compassionate capitalism’.
Reflecting on his life, Murthy recounts a pivotal moment in 1974 – a lonely, hungry and cold 21-hour journey on a freight train from Nice (now Serbia) to Istanbul during his return trip to India after working in Paris.
“The question of extreme poverty and inequality in our country has been bothering me ever since that day when I spent 21 hours alone, hungry, cold, angry and contemplating in the goods compartment of a freight train from Nis in what is now Serbia to Istanbul,” Narayan Murthy said in his speech. To India in 1974 during my trip, and my return to India after my job in Paris.”
Murthy pointed to his life and work as evidence that entrepreneurship can address poverty. “I have had some success in demonstrating the power of entrepreneurship to solve poverty through my experience in starting Infosys,” he said.
However, his optimism is tempered by the challenges that remain. “There is not a single day when I don’t feel overwhelmed, helpless, disturbed and motivated that our leaders will find a solution to this problem.”
Murthy has been vocal about the role of discipline and hard work in driving societal change. “My parents told me that the only way I could escape the orbit of poverty was through honesty, discipline and a good work ethic,” he said.
He stressed that putting the interests of society above personal gains ultimately leads to personal improvement.
Murthy recently sparked controversy when he suggested that Indian youth should commit to working longer hours, drawing inspiration from post-war Japan and Germany. “With a per capita income of $2,300, India is a poor country. “To become a middle-income country, it will take 16 to 18 years even with an 8% growth rate,” he said, calling for a return to a six-day work week to promote yield.
Born in 1946 in Sidlagatta, Karnataka, Murthy’s rise began with degrees in electrical engineering from NIE Mysore and IIT Kanpur. Turning down lucrative jobs, he became a senior systems programmer at IIM Ahmedabad, where he worked on India’s first time-sharing computing system under the supervision of Professor J. krishnaya. In 1981, he co-founded Infosys, a company that revolutionized India’s technology industry and contributed significantly to its economic growth.