Indians Have The Highest Ego Per Unit of Achievement, Says Narayana Murthy
Too much ego with know-it-all attitude limits India from being world class, says Narayana Murthy.
Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys Ltd. blames the Indian “know-it-all attitude” for holding the nation’s cities back from achieving world class status. Murthy was speaking at the Independence Day Lit Live lecture in Mumbai last week.
The biggest challenge for all of us, not just politicians or bureaucrats, is that we, Indians, have the highest ego per unit of achievement. I would humbly request, we be open-minded to those who have performed better than us.Narayan Murthy, Co-Founder, Infosys
Murthy cited several instances on how this know-it-all approach results in delays and can be a frustrating hurdle for businessmen.
“Nandan was giving a lecture on his experience in designing and implementing Aadhaar sometime back. Somebody asked him how difficult was it to work in Delhi... Nilekani’s response: The first hurdle that you come across is that they say we know this. The toughest hurdle is if they say we are already doing this. There isn’t much to do then,” Murthy said while sharing Infosys co-founder, Nandan Nilekani’s experience with the government.
The Fallout of Urbanisation
Given India’s “massive urban shift” (migration from rural to urban India) all over the country, Murthy said better management of urban problems is necessary to achieve this status.
“For India to achieve higher economic growth and meet its socio-economic potential, cities will need to play a central role,” Murthy said. “The bad news is that we are still placing band-aids where its cancer that needs to be cured,” he added.
Murthy said that cities need to build a framework consisting of spatial planning, municipal capacities (both human and financial), political leadership, and transparency with accountability.
We need clear ownership for a city as a whole and also for smaller geographic and functional units within it. A directly elected mayor can be the ultimate goal, but interim measures that fix ownership and accountability clearly on one leader is a must. That leader cannot directly be the Chief Minister of State, like is the case with all our major cities. It needs to be someone whose day job is to govern the city, and someone whose tenure is reasonable.
Domestic and international competitiveness should push Indian cities towards better infrastructure, transport, and amenities, he added.
A company like Amazon or Infosys will evaluate the competitiveness of Bengaluru vs Manila or Shanghai before it decides to expand operations. Similarly, Mumbai will have to compete with the likes of Hong Kong, Dubai and Singapore when it comes to a piece of global financial business. India’s competitors are all working to a plan, a strategy to provide the best quality of life to its citizens, attract the best talent and position themselves as the most attractive destination for investment.Narayana Murthy, Co Founder, Infosys
He stressed the need to look beyond the short term while preparing for opportunities and challenges over the next 20-30 years.