Narayana Murthy highlights population control as key to India's sustainability

During his speech at the Motilal Nehru Institute of Technology's convocation in Prayagraj, N.R. Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys voiced significant concerns regarding India's rapid population growth and its implications for the country's future sustainability.

Murthy pointed out that since the Emergency in the 1970s, there has been inadequate focus on population control, which now poses serious risks related to land scarcity and healthcare. He compared India with countries like USA, China, and Brazil, which have much higher per capita land availability, to underline the critical challenges India faces.

Furthermore, Murthy stressed the importance of professional dedication towards national advancement. He urged the new graduates to set high goals, dream big, and exert great effort to realize those ambitions. "A true professional's responsibility is to contribute to the nation's progress," he remarked.

Reflecting on his own life, Murthy acknowledged the sacrifices of his family and teachers that paved the way for his success. He emphasized the importance of generational sacrifices for the betterment of future ones. "One generation must make many sacrifices to improve the lives of the next," he explained. He credits his presence as a chief guest to sacrifices made by his parents, siblings, and teachers and adds their sacrifices were not in vain.

Murthy also revisited his earlier statement from an interview last October, where he suggested that young professionals should work 70 hours a week to make India competitive on a global scale.

He highlighted the need to enhance work productivity and reduce government corruption and bureaucratic delays as critical to achieving international competitiveness. "Unless we reduce the delay in addressing these issues, we will struggle to match the pace of those countries that have made tremendous progress," he concluded.