The Hindu Business Line : Focus more on exports, says Murthy

"Even today, foreign investors are sceptical to set up shop in India because of bureaucracy and red-tapism, which sends out negative signals to the international community," he said.

MR N.R. NARAYANA MURTHY

Mumbai, Sept. 22

The Chief Mentor of Infosys, Mr N.R. Narayana Murthy, feels that India will have to focus more on exports to quicken its transition from a "developing" to a "developed economy".

He also believes that the only way to improve infrastructure in the country is by welcoming larger dollops of foreign direct investments.

"Japan, China and Singapore have strengthened their economy by increasing their exports and there is no reason why India should not follow suit and be successful.

"At this point, exports constitute just around 11-12 per cent of India's GDP, which is very negligible," said Mr Murthy, who was in the city to speak on the `Role of Asian Business Schools in Globalization', organised by the Asian Institute of Management Alumni Association (AIMAAI), Manila, the Philippines.

Mr Murthy is a member of the Board of Governors of the Manila-based Asian Institute of Management.

`Create climate for FDI'

With regard to FDI, Mr Murthy feels that the only way to encourage foreign investors is by creating a climate of welcome and trust for investors.

"Even today, foreign investors are sceptical to set up shop in India because of bureaucracy and red-tapism, which sends out negative signals to the international community," he said in an informal chat with presspersons.

Mr Murthy said the country had drawn the attention of the world as a customised software destination.

This has happened because India has demonstrated value addition in certain fields especially IT. Never before in the history of the country had any industry created such a large workforce as the IT sector had done.

Success story

The success of Infosys, according to Mr Murthy, has been due to adherence to five important aspects of management - openness to new ideas, speed, excellence, imagination and meritocracy, which he believes are important traits for modern day companies and managers.

Further, Mr Murthy exhorted Indian managers to be leaders who care to `walk the talk'.

He was of the view that the best asset Indian managers must possess is to lead by example.

"For me, the only Indian hero has been Mahatma Gandhi, for no one else had understood the psyche of the Indian mindset better than him," he said.

Indian leaders must demonstrate by compliance to reach higher levels of excellence, he added.

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