08-20-2006, 06:03 AM
<b>Murthy to step down as Infy chief</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The staunch capitalist was once a socialist who travelled to Europe in the 1970s to learn more about communism, but came away disillusioned.
"I was a strong socialist. By the end of 1970 I got to the conclusion that leftism is just bogus. Socialism in India is meaningless. Creation of jobs requires entrepreneurship," the soft-spoken Murthy said.
Despite becoming a billionaire, Murthy set a model for India's wealthy business class by continuing to live simply and by sharing the NASDAQ-listed company's wealth with employees through stock options.
According to Indian media reports, that list includes not just the company's white-collar workers, but electricians, plumbers and Murthy's own driver, who at one time held close to half a million dollars in options.
"The value systems I incorporated in Infosys were taught to me by my parents," said Murthy, one of eight children of a rural schoolteacher father who earned 175 rupees (3.80 dollars) a month.
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"I was a strong socialist. By the end of 1970 I got to the conclusion that leftism is just bogus. Socialism in India is meaningless. Creation of jobs requires entrepreneurship," the soft-spoken Murthy said.
Despite becoming a billionaire, Murthy set a model for India's wealthy business class by continuing to live simply and by sharing the NASDAQ-listed company's wealth with employees through stock options.
According to Indian media reports, that list includes not just the company's white-collar workers, but electricians, plumbers and Murthy's own driver, who at one time held close to half a million dollars in options.
"The value systems I incorporated in Infosys were taught to me by my parents," said Murthy, one of eight children of a rural schoolteacher father who earned 175 rupees (3.80 dollars) a month.
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