India needs a culture of honesty and no favouritism: Narayana Murthy
Pune, Feb 23: India needs a culture of honesty, no favouritism, quicker decision making and hassle less transactions to prosper as a country, Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy said on Thursday.
Speaking at the Asia Economic Dialogue organised by the Ministry of External Affairs here, Murthy said only a small section works hard in the country and a majority of people have not imbibed the culture which is essential to fulfil the aspirations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"We need to build a culture of quick decision making, quick implementation, hassle less transactions, honesty in transactions, no favouritism," Murthy said, adding that the only common aspect joining all the developed countries are such cultural attributes.
He said both India and China were of the same size in the late 1940s, but the northern neighbour has grown to be six times the size of India courtesy the culture it has imbibed.
"There is a small section of India which works hard, which is honest, which has good work ethic, discipline, by and large this is not the predominant nature," Murthy said.
Asking people not to call him as an anti-national, he cited an experience of setting up a facility in Shanghai in 2006. He said the mayor of the Chinese city allocated a 25 acre land parcel selected by him the day after it was selected, and such pace of movement is lacking in India.
He said corruption is existent at lower levels and added that those in higher levels are very honest.
"If we want the business people to stay only in India and do everything in India, I think they will be very happy to do. All that we are respectfully requesting is that quick decisions must be taken, they must be implemented quickly and they should be no harassment, no unnecessary hurdle," he said.
He also exhorted youngsters not to indulge in practices like moonlighting or insistence on working from home, saying ethics and laziness need to be given special focus.
"My fervent desire and humble desire to youngsters is please don't fall into this trap of I will moonlight, I will do work from home, I will come to office three days in a week," he said.
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Rajnath Singh chairs IGoM meet, urges constant vigil over West Asia crisis
New Delhi (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday emphasised the need for round-the-clock monitoring of the West Asia conflict and called for a calibrated response to deal with any eventuality to ensure that national interests remain protected.
Singh made the comments while chairing a high-level meeting of the Informal Group of Ministers (IGoM) set-up to monitor the situation in West Asia.
The meeting was attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Power Minister Manohar Lal, Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister J P Nadda, Consumer Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi and Minister of Railways, Information and Broadcasting, Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw.
In view of the "uncertain situation", the defence minister underlined the importance of round-the-clock monitoring of the situation and the need to respond in a calibrated manner to deal with any eventuality, an official readout said.
He stressed on the need to leave no stone unturned to ensure that the people of the country face the minimum effect of the conflict, it said.
It was the second meeting of the IGoM after it was set up last month.
The IGoM was apprised of the measures being taken by the government in the wake of the ongoing West Asia conflict, Singh said on social media.
"We also deliberated upon the next steps to be taken by the government to mitigate any adverse impact arising due to the ongoing conflict," he said.
The defence ministry said in the readout said, "In the meeting, the seven empowered groups of secretaries briefed the IGoM on the steps being taken to tackle the situation."
"The IGoM was apprised about measures undertaken by the Ministry of Finance to address concerns arising due to global trade disruptions and provide relief and support to the industry, especially manufacturing, and bolster investor confidence," it said.
It listed measures including notification issued on Wednesday on full customs duty exemption on 40 critical petrochemical products till June 30.
The ministry also mentioned announcement of a special one-time relief measure for eligible units in SEZs to sell manufactured goods in Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) at concessional customs duty rates to be effective from April 1 to March 31.
It also noted another notification issued by the Department of Revenue clarifying that the provisions of GAAR (General Anti Avoidance Rules) will not be invoked in respect of investments made prior to April 1, 2017.
"These measures will reduce cost pressures on downstream sectors including textiles, packaging and pharmaceuticals, facilitate supply stability in the country and provide requisite clarity for investors contemplating investments in India," the readout said.
Defence Minister Singh appreciated the government's decision to impose a 25 per cent cap on the monthly increase in aviation turbine fuel prices for domestic operations, with effect from April 1.
This step will help protect the people from sudden increase in fares, he said.
The government has accorded highest priority to domestic LPG supply, with refinery production enhanced to fully meet consumption requirements, according to the readout.
"The IGoM was informed that there have been no reports of dry-out at LPG distributorships, and delivery of domestic LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) cylinders continues as per the normal schedule. The temporary supply concerns arose due to instances of hoarding and black marketing, which triggered panic buying in certain areas," it said.
The ministers were informed that strict enforcement action is being undertaken, with raids being carried out across multiple states and Union territories to curb hoarding and black marketing of LPG, the ministry said in the readout.
Action has also been taken against some LPG distributors who engaged in malpractices, it said.
"To support migrant labour and low-consumption households, the government is ensuring adequate availability of 5 kg free trade LPG cylinders, and since March 23, over 4.3 lakh such cylinders have been sold. Special focus is being given to states where demand is higher," it said.
The IGoM was apprised that industrial requirements dependent on commercial LPG are being met, with over 80 per cent of pre-crisis supply levels being maintained to ensure continuity of operations.
"Special meetings have been held with ministries and stakeholders of different industries to understand their demand and meet their needs. Oil PSUs are ensuring continued supply of Auto LPG across the country," the readout noted.
"However, some supply constraints are being faced by private operators due to their procurement challenges, which is why lines are being observed at PSU auto LPG pumps. Wherever the autos are dual feed and can use petrol, they are being encouraged to use petrol," it said.
