Murthy, Premji raise concerns about Indian economy

Zeebiz Bureau

New Delhi: Saddened by grim economic situation and a continuous decline in India’s growth rate, veteran businessmen NR Narayana Murthy and Azim Premji have both raised concerns and have held ‘policy paralysis’ at the Centre responsible for it.

Expressing disappointment over the sad economic condition of the country, Narayana Murthy, co-founder and chairman emeritus of Infosys, said that it is high time India took action to be seen as a proactive, investor-friendly country. He also emphasised upon having a stable governance model.

Separately, Azim Premji, chairman of Wipro, reportedly said on Monday that India is functioning without a leader. He said, “We are working without a leader as a country.”

According to a research report from Morgan Stanley dated 11 June 2012, Murthy said, “As an Indian, I feel sad we have come to this state.”

Murthy has also criticized retrospective imposition of taxes and said that a high growth trajectory is not possible without the participation of foreign investors.

“This is where the government should not send the kind of signals that that it has recently sent by introducing tax laws on a retrospective basis. It does not matter what the intentions are. Nobody can understand intentions; people can only read the laws and then act,” Morgan Stanly quoted Murthy as saying.

However, an optimistic Murthy also said, “Even if the government continues to be a spectator rather than a driver, I think we can get 6% (GDP growth). If the government becomes a driver – becomes an active participant in the growth of the economy – then 8% growth is achievable.”

India's economic growth rate in 2011-12 slipped to a nine-year low of 6.5 percent. The economy had expanded by 8.4 percent in the preceding two years.