The Hindu Business Line : Move people from agriculture to manufacturing: Murthy

The Chairman and Chancellor of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Dr T. Ramdas Pai; the Chief Mentor of Infosys Technologies, Mr N.R.Narayana Murthy; and the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Karnataka Bank Ltd, Mr Anantakrishna, at the inauguration of the Dr.T.M.A.Pai convention centre at Mangalore on Thursday.

Mangalore , Aug. 18

THE Chief Mentor of Infosys Technologies Ltd, Mr N.R. Narayana Murthy, on Thursday said India should move people from the agricultural sector to manufacturing and services sectors, and stressed the need for an economic model where 30 per cent of the GDP came from exports.

Inaugurating the Dr T.M.A. Pai International Convention Centre here , Mr Murthy said the problems of the less fortunate and less educated could be solved only by creating a large number of jobs. The country must integrate with the world economy for this to happen, he said.

"We have to move people from the agriculture sector to the manufacturing and services sectors. This means that we need large buyers from abroad. As disposable income is low at this point of time, we have to necessarily move towards exports," he said.

From the present 9-10 per cent share of GDP coming from exports, the country should increase it to 30 per cent. "This is the model that China, Brazil and East Asian countries have used," he said.

"So if we have to move nearly 7-8 million people from agriculture to manufacturing, we have to necessarily address large investments on the one hand and find markets abroad on the other," he said. Visible signs of progress should be created in the country. This called for good infrastructure to help raise the comfort level and confidence of customers.

Stating that India was at a historical juncture, he said that never before in the last 1,200 years did the world look up at India. Today many developed nations like the US look to India in areas such as IT, life sciences, clinical research and financial services.

Mr Murthy said Infosys set up its first development centre outside Bangalore in Mangalore, 10 years ago. This development centre was the finest in quality, productivity and other aspects, he said.

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Karnataka Bank Ltd, Mr Anantakrishna, who presided over the inaugural ceremony, thanked Mr Murthy and said many more IT companies should consider tier two cities such as Mangalore.

Though Mangalore had good infrastructure such as airport, seaport, railway line and national highway network, industries were a bit apprehensive about investing in the region, he said, adding that there was no need for such apprehension.

The Chairman and Chancellor of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Dr T. Ramdas Pai, welcomed the gathering.

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