Narayana Murthy on rupee rise, poverty

Infosys chief mentor N R Narayana Murthy on Friday said that rupee appreciation was a macro-economic issue and called upon corporates to become more efficient, productive and reduce costs.

"I am not worried about factors which are out of my control. . . it is a macro-economic issue," he told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of the Abdul Latif Jamal Poverty Action Lab (J-Pal) in Chennai.

"We have to become more efficient, productive and we must reduce costs," he added.

Earlier, speaking at the launch, he said that the country had to go in for a massive human resource development programme to eradicate poverty. Successful models should be scaled up and replicated to alleviate poverty.

India had to play a critical role in doing away with poverty. "If India can't do it, the world can't," he said, adding that organisations like J-Pal had tremendous responsibility in this regard.

He said that economic reforms had created a strong middle class in the last 16 years, but there was an uneven flow of benefit and a clear divide between the urban and rural economy.

Narayana Murthy, quoting a Goldman Sachs report that India can sustain 8 per cent growth till 2020, said, "It will be possible only if we cut the red-tape in the country."

He called for more transparency in the public administration system. "The government should support education and healthcare and organisations like J-Pal provide transparent and efficient database on policies," he said.