Capitalism based on free market only solution to alleviate poverty: Murthy
Capitalism based on the twin pillars of a free market and entrepreneurship is the only solution to solve the problem of poverty in India and in any country, N.R. Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys, said in a fireside chat moderated by Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of brokerage platform Zerodha.
“Government should become a fair and transparent regulator…On the side of the entrepreneurs, they have to realise they are the evangelists for capitalism because by and large capitalism is fairly new in India…it is not sufficient for entrepreneurs to seek a free market, but they have to bring fairness, transparency, and accountability to running their enterprises…they have to ensure that when they take their decisions, the lowest level employee of the company is made better with their decisions,” Murthy said in a fireside chat during the Bengaluru Tech Summit.
Murthy said that over the years, he has transformed from a “confused leftist” to a “determined compassionate capitalist.” As evangelists of capitalism, citizens have to pay a higher level of taxation, and the taxation should be higher in developing countries than in the developed ones, he said.
Murthy applauded the government’s National Education Policy (NEP), calling it a step in the right direction. “The need of the day is to see in the minds of the children independent thinking, active listening, critical thinking, being able to relate what is learnt in the classrooms to problems around us and thinking of solutions,” he said.
Murthy said Bengaluru is the country’s tech capital, contributing about 35-37 per cent of the total software exports of about $75 billion. However, to make the city more attractive, it is imperative for the state to facilitate the opening of more English medium schools. It is equally essential to improve the city’s infrastructure with a sense of alacrity, he said. He cites the example of China in taking quick decisions.
“People in the infrastructure industry must work three shifts a day…not work just one shift coming at 11 am and going at 5 pm,” he said. “Elsewhere in the nations that have high aspirations, I have seen people work at least two shifts. I can definitely vouch for two shifts of work.”
He said that Bengaluru’s growth over the years has also been driven by the people who are “hospitable, accommodative, welcoming, and kind…Karnataka has always had a reputation for good engineers.”
To achieve a high GDP per capita, Murthy has urged political leaders to study China carefully, learn from them, and implement it in India. This has nothing to do with geopolitics, which is a separate issue, he clarified.