N R Narayana Murthyi

I INDIA # BOOK REVIEW

i BETTER WORLD
A BETTER INDIA, A BETTER WORLD"
by N.R. Narayana Murthy

Penguin Books, 2009, Price : 499

* Prof. N.S. Srinivasan

Preamble :

NRN's 'introduction' itself gives one, the glimpses of what is there inside the b o o k , so absorbing , one gets
drawn to each speech, like a bee to the honey flower.

NRN's speeches at varied forums are presented in ten parts:

Address to Students, Values, Important National Issues, Education, Leadership Challenges, Corpc>ratF>
and Public Governance, Corporate Social Responsibility, Entrepreneurship, Globalization & Infosys.

After reading each part, I pause, try to digest and reflect whether I could present a succinct digest, which ib
the function of book review. I really feel whether I could do justice to this monumental collection of NRN's
speeches on almost all aspects of human behaviour, how one can make India better, what kind of mental
frame work every citizen should cultivate, his concern for the teeming poor, his vision of happiness to every
Indian through basic needs, ethics in living, politics, corporates, responsibility to every citizen, India to be
part of Globalization. I am amazed at the depth of experienced knowledge of this Icon, the Role Model in the
words of Dr. Manmohan Singh, on diverse fields. Many know NRN as the founder of and father of Infosys, a
model of corporate ethics and social responsibility. Look at the humility of this Icon. He writes "It is not easy
to talk about a colossus like Jawaharlal Nehru" I feel I have taken up the most arduous task of this book
review. I did not experience this when I wrote first book review on 'Our Ice berg is Melting 'authored by John
Katter. I can only pray to the Almighty to give me the Intellectual capacity to absorb and present succinctly
so as to infuse in the mind of every reader, mostly the younger student generation, on whom rests the
responsibility to clean up the mess into which India has been driven by the corrupt political class, the
passion to read this book from end to end, absorb and get inspired to become NRN's dream citizen of India.
I would then feel I have accomplished.

Management Consultant, Redmond (Seattle), WA-98052, USA.

Vol 2 Issue 2 September 2009 71

The Review : Taking this clue, I urged my MD to try and get funds

I am presenting Parts 'Address to Students' and even temporarily, while preparing the ground with

'Education' rather elaborately, as these two parts another public sector bank, practicing liberal policy.
are of immense importance to students in formulating When we got the funds, I quietly signed a cheque
their character. I have attempted digest of other parts. along with the MD and got rid of the stifling bank in
one go, despite opposition from diehard colleagues.
Address to Students:
I am sure, you will be convinced of the need to learn
Learning from experience:
from the experience of others, more particularly from
Let me pose a proposition: 'If one were to learn from
our icon NRN's life.
one's own experience, it is only a reflection after
the event. How far one can anticipate and be NRN's four life lessons -
prepared? W h e n s o m e t h i n g crops up all on a
1. As a Graduate student at IIT Kanpur, for NRN,
sudden, where are we to look to? This is where
learning from other's experience comes handy. One the spark that came from the discussions of a
is able to find a solution applying this model'. Let famous computer scientist on the developments
me share with you an event from my life experience. altered his future. He took to computer science
like fish to water. It shows one role model altehng
I had to face way back in 1975 a situation. You may
not even know today 'what key loan from a bank is'. the future of a young student for the better, a

Today, it is anachronism. Then, it was the order of valuable advice coming from an unexpected
the day with most banks, particularly nationalized quarter. The power of chance events one may
banks. So conservative, for each part, say for an come up.
engine assembly, you pay the money value of the
2. How the cold journey in Bulgarian border, the
part under lock and key of the bank in your own
treatment at the hand s of Bulgarian guards and
premises. The assembly line comes to a halt if you
do not have the money to get the part released. the long journey to Istanbul, starving for 108 hrs.,

This led to corruption as the manager of the branch transformed NRN from a confused leftist, which
could be persuaded to release without payment or phase everyone in need of basics pass through,
substituting with something of no value. One way to to a determined compassionate capitalist, which
get over was to get rid of the bank and seek he practised in his life and now preaching.
assistance from a bank more open and trusting the
3. His determination and conviction that Infosys
customer.
has a bright future, w h e n even $ 1 million
I had witnessed, in my first entry into the private
purchase offer was attractive, so desperate the
sector from government service the uncompromising
situation was in 1990. 1990 to 2009 is not a
and bossing attitude of a foreign bank to a very
long journey for a corporation but the stunning
reputed group. The chairman was so annoyed he
sought the help of an Indian private sector bank of growth proved NRN's vision was right, of course,

India's illustrious group. With the facilities provided he and his team toiled hard, bringing out the
by this bank, the chairman, in one go, settled the mind set to succeed.
total dues running to several crores to the foreign
4. How his tough stand not to bend to customer's
bank and yet allowed it to continue its operations
brow beating and stand up on one's own lifted
from the group premises as before. The result was
the prompt removal of the expat chief manager from Infosys to great heights and the development

office by the HO abroad.

Adarsh Journal of Ivlanagement Research 72

5. Self-reflection, the Indian spiritual tradition The need for excellence:
The gist of his advice:-Whatever may be one's India has a vibrant democracy, a free press and an
achievements, however high one goes up in independent judiciary ; the third largest pool of world
career or in public life, we are all temporary class scientists and engineers, self-sufficiency in

custodians of the wealth we generate. The best food grains, built dams, rockets and satellites; but,
alas, it is a but, there is no single field where India
use of wealth is to share with less fortunate, be
has been adjudged the best. That is because we
it money, knowledge. Having eaten from trees
do not practice excellence in any field. There are
that we did not plant, it is our responsibility to
only words but no action. Reputation is to be built
plant for the future generation so that they can
with achievements and that is in the hands of the
eat and follow the golden principle.
youth who are the future India.

The Indian of the twenty-first c e n t u r y :

Education:
In this, NRN brings out his perception of an Indian - NRN's "what would I do if I were the principal of a
well educated, responsible to society, showing secondary school" reflects the model of how a
fairness to less unfortunate, eager to create a future school should function. Constant revision of curricula
that posterity can be proud of, thereby fulfilling the to match the changing needs, emphasis on problem

promise that freedom brought. This Indian nurses a solving in each subject, addressing real- life context,
particularly in economics, physics and chemistry,
worthy dream, has the ability to translate that dream
with models in demonstrating the theory in class,
to reality by high performance action, has the mind
thereby infusing confidence in students to tackle
set to accept new ideas, evaluate them for progress.
actual problems in the world outside the school are
More and more reservation in every walk of life breeds
to be the pathway. For this, the teacher-student
more corruption. Our election system provides the
ratio to be such, better attention is given to each
incentive to politicians to keep majority of the people student. This in turn will give the impetus to have
poor and poorer, so that the vote bank could be m o r e quality s c h o o l s , with g o o d s t a n d a r d of
sustained by a few throwaway just before election. teachers. Application of technology for interactive
(NSS addition-We are reminded of the great sayings sessions in teaching science, mathematics and
of Rajaji-- Adult franchise, without the backup of economics and introduction of Algorithmic thinking
quality education of everyone, will lead to corruption from fourth standard are his way of imparting

becoming a way of life, rather continuing the corrupt education to children. The principal and teachers
are to be the epitome of all that is good. As keen
system of Bntish raj on a mass scale).
observers, students will have the role model to
NRN's advice to students is to lead by example in absorb and thus become good citizens in later life.
work ethic, honesty, following the rule of law and
The urban schools should be allowed to function
contracts, and charity. Instead of paying lip service
without interference from government. The need for
to Mahatma Gandhi, like majority of politicians, walk
good education will, by itself, regulate functioning.
the talk and practise the precept. The ideal Indian
Primary and secondary schools in the rural areas
of the 21*' century, N R N hopes, will have the
are to be run by the government with all the available
characteristics- N o n - v i o l e n c e (does not mean resources. The very model of urban schools will
weakness or submissiveness), controlling desires give the impetus to quality in rural schools. This is
(which we badly need today), kindness to all, NRN's prescription for bettering our education
forgiveness, peace, meditation, charity and truth. system to produce good future leaders.

Vol 2 Issue 2 September 2009 73

Having spelt out the platform for primary and for passing out. In fact, the reservation system has
secondary education, NRN gives a framework for been systematically exploited by the very same
reforms in higher education. 'A University should be families who have been benefited without any
a place of light, of liberty and of learning' so says justification. If in spite of all these manmade hurdles,
Benjamin Disraeli, one of the finest parliamentarians the elite from IITs and IIMs are receiving global
of UK. Here, I would like to digress from NRN's. Our recognition, it speaks of the determination of this
universities mostly are the hot bed of intrigues, few to prove their mettle. Very soon, our IIT'ians and
thanks to the way Vice-Chancellors are appointed IIM'eans will lose global recognition. In fact some
by the party in power to dance to their tunes, in private Management institutes and engineering
utter disregard of academic excellence expected of colleges have surpassed these citadels in quality).
the personality. Faculty quality is at its lowest. Too This NRN terms 'A tendency to descend to lowest
much demand and too little quality supply. Ph.D. common denominator in everything we do'.
programme India is such one can get conferred by
simply sitting at home. The quality of research NRN's prescriptions to bring educational institutions
papers submitted are such poor standard, they are to acceptable standards from the present deplorable
not even worth the papers on which they are printed. to which they have been driven:
These Ph.Ds. are to guide our youngsters in various
The first is to raise the aspirations, confidence,
institutions of higher learning. One can imagine the
e n e r g y a n d e n t h u s i a s m of o u r educational
output quality. NRN laments that the practice of
institutions. For this, stifling and excessive control
getting PhD theses evaluated by researchers from
of the bureaucracy over the last thirty years should
abroad that obtained during 1960s and 1970s in
be replaced by best global benchmark to measure
India, had given way to localization, leading to
the performance of our universities, supported by
watering down standards to suit political bosses,
best infrastructure facilities, research and quality of
with scant respect to quality. (NSS addition- Such is
curricula across various fields - engineering,
the level of education of our parliamentarians they
medicine, pure science, and literature. Indian
stooped to dilute the great NTs, higher seats of
universities should participate in global rankings and
learning, which, along with IIMs, Bhabha Atomic
use the findings to rejuvenate and excel; cultivate
Research Centre and the All Institute of Medical
an environment of openness and set up interactions
sciences, conceived and created by Jawaharlal
with the best universities of the world through
Nehru, to form the backbone of the engineering and
collaborative research initiatives and exchange
m a n a g e r i a l talent of India. If today, India has
programmes for faculty and students.
achieved the position of a significant player in the
global software, it is the vision of the Colossus NRN is of the opinion that the above is easier to
Nehru. The recently introduced controversial implement in private universities, perhaps colleges.
reservations in these citadels of higher learning, Private universities are few in number in India. (NSS
under the pretext of accommodating the addition- Many private institutions of higher educa-
underpnvileged, instead of tackling at the primary tion have sprung up as pure sources of income for
and secondary stage to develop these downtrodden political class and their supporters. The recent
through special programmes of coaching and thus T i m e s Now' exposure through videotape of Rs.40
bring them up to the standard and help them compete lakhs capitation fee for a medical seat at the
with others, have eroded quality input and the famous Ramachandra medical institute, Chennai,
resultant output, as lower standards are observed and another, also in Chennai, where a present

Adarsh Journal of Ivlanagement Research 74

central minister is allegedly connected, are cases This review on education will be incomplete without
of gross violation of S u p r e m e Court judgment NRN's views on the 'Role of Religion in Education'
banning capitation fee. In fact, this is going on in appearing in 'Address to students'
many institutions in south India, the governments NRN begins with a quote from ^ lahatma Gandhi that
practicing a nelson's eye. There is the urgent need is critical for a successful life as well as a successful
to delink all political family connections, direct or career: "All your scholarship would be in vain if at
indirect to ensure that admissions are purely merit the same time you do not build your character and
based. Sale of seats of this magnitude to obviously attain mastery over your thoughts and your actions".
accommodate poor quality rich students will lead NRN observes that India adopted secularism as its
to wastage and /or produce third rate engineers and credo. The concept of secularism generally means
doctors; quite a n u m b e r get into positions of that religion is an individual's private matter and it
authonty to perpetuate corrosion of standards). has no place in any public transactions. 'For me,

NRN recommends replacement of excessive control secularism is about respecting every religion and

of the governments by a Regulatory Committee for appreciating the positive aspects of each such faith'.

each group, comprising eminent men and women, Religion plays an important part in our lives by

including well known educationists from countries shaping our values and our interactions with the

that are in top five in global educational rankings. world. Students, as the future leaders, would do

This group should meet twice a year to set the well to understand and appreciate the religious

standards in each of these areas and review the beliefs of colleagues. It is not by a wish but by

progress. The standards should be widely circulated teaching tolerance to children. NRN again quotes

in newspapers and internet for parents and students Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest of all who preached

to know what to expect. Ranking top fifty institutions and practiced: 'I do not want my house to be walled

in each area in the country by national dailies and in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed . I want

weeklies; and in regional dailies, similar data on the cultures of all lands to be blown about my house

institutions in each state, as is obtaining in USA as freely as possible'

and other countries, will bring to focus the state of Where do we begin teaching? In schools and
other institutions and the need to gear up. This will c o l l e g e s t e a c h i n g must e n c o m p a s s all major
g e n e r a t e c o m p e t i t i v e p r o g r e s s in quality. All religions, with syllabi updated to include such
government funded universities should be subject discussions. It should be ensured that children learn
to the purview ot the Regulatory Committee and the only the noble aspects of these religions and are
findings shall be binding on the government to ensure not forced to follow them. In short, it should not be
compliance. treated as platform for conversion. For this, specially
trained teachers should be deployed. If we can
NRN's quote of Jawaharlal Nehru at the end of this
ensure this, then teaching could be even at primary
thought provoking lecture is worth rememb3ring all
school level.
the time as the guiding light: "For growth, our
country needs a scientific temper.... Only science, (NSS addition-It would be appropriate here to
education and the pursuit of knowledge can help assess the present climate in India. Today's politics
solve our problems of poverty, of superstition, has gone to such abysmal level decrying one's own
of vast rich resources running waste, of a rich religion is construed as 'secularism'. The way caste
country inhabited by starving people". based politics is playing havoc to spoil the young

Vol 2 Issue 2 September 2009 75

minds; one w o n d e r s whether N R N ' s brand of Important National I s s u e s :
religious teaching will have the right effect. As we Lessons from the economic reforms of 1991
know, NRN is an optimist and his concept is worth The Economic Reforms of 1991 initiated by the
a try, starting in a small way). Prime Minister P.M. Narasimha Rao, ably supported
by the then finance minister Dr. Manmohan Singh
Concluding remarks:
and his team, transformed India, in less than a week,
The review on two parts of immense interest to from command and control economy, which brought
students - "Address to students' and 'Education' is the country to near bankruptcy, to an almost free
itself has taken so much space. Normally a book economy and thus heralded the growth in every

review is to be brief. As I said at the beginning, it is sector, the fruits of which we had been experiencing

rather an uphill task to review all the ten parts for a decade. Sustained growth calls for good work
ethic, honesty, humility, objectivity, high quality
speeches of NRN. It is so comprehensive that it is
leadership and social commitment to people. These
difficult to condense without losing the substance.
are not easy but in John F. Kennedy's words: "our
However, I am attempting to give the gist of the parts
problems are man-made. Therefore, they may be
so to draw the attention of the young minds to
solved by man. No problem of human destiny is
e m p h a s i s e that it is a must read in full by all
beyond human beings", we get reinforced to achieve
students who are the future of this great nation - a the goal.
chakde India.
India's demographic profile, with a high growth of
Values: The five lectures in this part are summarized working population can be a fuel for faster economic

by N R N in the article ' C h a k De India', most growth, rather 'a demographic window of opportunity'

beautifully conveyed by Shah Rukh khan: for the country. This growing population is to be
transformed into 'good human capital', which, in turn,
• We have to identify ourselves as Indians first would contribute to high levels of labour productivity
and rise above our affiliations with our states, and entrepreneurship driving grovrth in the economy.
religions and castes. But, there is the question-whether this population

• We must accept meritocracy and growth will put a serious burden on environment and
resource. While, on one hand, India will have to
enthusiastically play the role we are best suited
stabilize population at 1.75 billion by 2045, India
to.
has the opportunity to leapfrog old, inefficient
• We must discipline while following the steps
technology and focus on new, sustainable solutions
required for success. - more efficient t r a n s p o r t a t i o n and sanitation
• W e have to put the interest of the nation ahead systems, clean fuel vehicles, better product and
of our personal interests, subordinating our egos p r o c e s s t e c h n o l o g i e s in m a n u f a c t u r i n g a n d

and biases. bioengineering of crops rather than use of fertilizers.

All these call for innovative solutions for which India
• We must look for leadership with determination
has adequate talent.
to fight the scourge of corruption.
On urban development, NRN draws our attention to
• Finally, we have to put in tremendous hard work
the words of geographer David Harper-'cities are
and make short term sacrifices for long term
endowed with great character and with fascinating,
Glory.
ever- changing personalities'. It is the need of the

Adarsh Journal of Ivlanagement Research 76

hour to embrace intelligent, practical and effective disenfranchised; Atomic energy, conceptualized
policies for urban development and governance to by Dr. Homi Bhaba and his initiatives on nuclear
transform our dynamic, fast changing urban centres science research in India now transformed into
into truly sustainable engines of growth. successful nuclear energy for application in defence,
power generation, medicine and allied areas. India
NRN talks about the eight visions that changed the
is recognized as a mature and responsible player
face India:
in this field, thanks to its sworn declaration that
The Green Revolution initiated by Dr. M.S. nuclear energy is for peaceful use only; and The
Swaminathan in 1965. transforming India from a software revolution for which the foundation was
food- deficit economy to a food- surplus economy laid by N. Vittal's s o f t w a r e t e c h n o l o g y parks
and triggering rural non-farming economy, thereby programme, leading to a 60 billion export by IT
uplifting 400 to 500 million Indians. companies, bench marked with the best in the world,

The white revolution, the extraordinary vision of f o l l o w i n g t h e f i n e s t p r i n c i p l e s of c o r p o r a t e

Dr. Verghese Kurien , continued ably by Amrita governance. All the above eight programmes were

Patel. transformed India from an acute shortage of all led by visionaries.

milk to the world's largest producer of milk. 'Amur NRN, while giving the twenty-third Jawaharlal Nehru
IS the household word in every nook and corner of memorial lecture in London on December, 2000,
india in the last 30 years. proudly spoke about software enterprises as the
The economic reforms of 1991 initiated by former Temples of India. He acknowledged that the dream
PM late P. V.Narasimha Rao, Dr. Manmohan Singh of making India a significant player in the global
and his team, opened up the minds of Indian software industry would not have been possible
corporate leaders to global markets, accept without Nehru's vision in creating the IITs which
competition at home and abroad and raised formed the backbone for the development of IT
confidence of consumers. With hard currency industry in India, which, aided by the large pool of
reserves going up substantially, the economy took English s p e a k i n g p o p u l a t i o n and assisted by
to unprecedented growth. (NSS addition: although competitive cost, has emerged as the world's strong
the powers that be have been uncharitable to c o n t e n d e r to t h e t o p p o s i t i o n in s o f t w a r e
P V N in t h e s u b s e q u e n t years after his development and services. It is the consistent export
retirement^ earnings of the IT industry that fuelled the economic
development that India witnessed, meaning really
The others are: 'Independent media and brave
the temples of India.
journalist', the pillars of democracy, already pinning
NRN's lectures on 'Leadership Lessons from the
down senes of scams which would have gone
Infosys Journey'ar\6 'A leadership Mind set for
unnoticed: 'The telecom Revolution " bringing the
a Resurgent India' spea/f volumes about NRN's
urban and the rural together, under the leadership
leadership qualities which he has put to practice in
of Sam Petroda, (NSS addition: another one,
Infosys with remarkable results.
sidelined by the very s a m e powers that be,
perhaps reflecting the character of the present NRN's lectures On Good corporate governance
powers that be); Space technology and satellite and Corporate Governance and its relevance to
television, connecting millions of villages of India, India are reflected in his recommendations on
giving voice to a billion people-the rich and the poor, Independent Directors, known as Narayanamurthy
the educated and uneducated, the powerful and the committee's recommendations.

Vol 2 Issue 2 September 2009 77

NRN's concept of Compassionate Capitalism, a I would like to close this review quoting NRN- 'Why
revelation that came to him at the hands of the has Infosys been cited as the best-respected
Bulgarian guards, is about bringing the power of company more often than any other company in
capitalism to the benefit of large masses. It is about India in the last decade? It is clearly due to our
combining the power of the mind and heart, the good steadfast commitment to our values- respect and
of capitalism and socialism. NRN refers to the dignity in every transaction, conduct in a fair and
Swedish example of private ownership of means of ethical manner every employee be proud of and keep
production, with an elaborate welfare system that his head high'.
transformed poor Sweden to one of the richest in
I consider we need to keep in mind all the time the
Europe. This way capitalism will be accepted as
great poem of Rabindranath Tagore to evaluate
the tool of emancipation of the poor. In the words of
whether India has realized the vision of his poem.
John F Kennedy, 'if a society cannot help the many
Let me end by quoting the same:
who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich'. It
is our duty to create a mandate for an ideology that Where the mind is without fear and the head is
we b e l i e v e in - o n e w h i c h a l l o w s unfettered held high;
opportunities to create an upward spiral of wealth Where knowledge is free;
and prosperity for everyone. This duty is even more
Where the world has not been broken up into
vital for us, the business leaders, who have enjoyed
fragments by narrow domestic walls
the benefits of the system. In other words, NRN
wants the business world-nurture a revolution of Where words come out from the depth of truth;
kindness. Where tireless striving stretches its arms
towards perfection;
On Entrepreneurship, NRN draws his conclusions,
based on his own experience. Entrepreneurship is Where the clear stream of reason has not lost
about creating wealth from scratch. Openness to its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
new ideas, meritocracy, speed, imagination and Where the mind is led fonvard by Thee into
excellence in execution are the five attributes of any ever-widening thought and action-
successful entrepreneur. Those who leverage these
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my
attributes will survive and succeed in the coming
country awake'.
decades of intense competition.

* * * * *

Adarsh Journal of Ivlanagement Research 78