Premji, Murthi hit out on India’s ‘Policy Paralysis’
New Delhi. Amid growing perceptions of policy paralysis, Two of India’s most respected business leaders – Azim Premji and NR Narayana Murthy – have hit out at the condition of the Indian economy, stating their disappointment with the current state of affairs.
Expressing concern over the political situation at the Centre, the Wipro Chairman said , “India was functioning ‘without a leader. Premji has in the recent past criticised India’s governance. In October he wrote an open letter to the government over the lack of governance. His latest comments come amid a mere 0.1 per cent growth in manufacturing for April reported on Monday, and a warning from rating agency Standard & Poor’s that it would lower India’s rating to junk grade if issues of governance and economic reforms are not addressed soon.
Premji warned that the ”complete absence of decision-making among leaders in the government” might cost the country dear.
N R Narayana Murthy, co-founder of IT giant Infosys, has said, “Over the past 3-4 months, India’s image seems to have suffered. As an Indian, I feel very sad that we have come to this state.’’ he told Morgan Stanley, a global bank, according to a research report dated 11 June 2012. The bank sent this report to its clients on Monda.
Murthy criticized retrospective imposition of taxes and said that a high growth trajectory is not possible without the participation of foreign investors. They need to see India as a proactive, investor-friendly and stable governance model.
“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,” the report quoted Murthy.
Amid rising concerns over the country’s economic growth prospects, HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh also said that the only thing holding India back at this juncture was “lack of political will” and investors could no longer be placated by talks of “long-term fundamentals”.
The same day, credit ratings agency Standard and Poor’s on Monday warned that India may become the first among the BRIC—Brazil, Russia, India and China—countries to lose its investment grade rating, citing slowing GDP growth and political roadblocks to economic policymaking among causes.
