Better India: A better world

With one of the highest GDP growth rates in the world and an industry and entrepreneurship, India strides confidently towards the future democracy, not everyone is equally fortunate. More than 300 million Indians are still prey to hunger, illiteracy and disease, . But, in the worlds largest and 51 per cent of Indias children are still undernourished. What will it take for India to bridge this great divide? When will the fruits of development reach the poorest of the poor, and wipe the tears from the eyes of every man, woman and child, as Mahatma Gandhi had dreamt? And how should this, our greatest challenge ever, be negotiated? In this extraordinarily inspiring and visionary book, N.R. Narayana Murthy, who pioneered, designed and executed the Global Delivery Model array of recent achievements in technology, that has become the cornerstone of Indias success in information technology services outsourcing, shows us that a society working for the greatest welfare of the greatest number ,must focus on two simple things: values and good leadership. Drawing on the remarkable Infosys story and the lessons learnt from the two decades of post-reform India, Narayana Murthy lays down the ground rules that must be followed if future generations are to inherit a truly progressive nation. Built on Narayana Murthys lectures delivered around the world, A Better India: A Better World is a manifesto for the youth, the architects of the future, and a compelling argument for why a better India holds the key to a better world. This book is a collection of lectures delivered by the author on special occasions, in India and abroad. These cover various topics. Introduction points out the rapid progress of India, in spite of several tragedies and problems. There have been achievements in many fields e.g. IT, telecom, technology, space, sports, music etc. but the fruits of such achievements have not reached the masses. Narrating the background of his initial days, around the time of starting of Infosys, the author shares his views and experience. Technology has to play a big role in improvement. Full literacy is necessary. Challenges faced by us have to be met, and success can be achieved with hard work, commitment, focus and confidence of everybody, with faith in the youth of the country. A company can survive for a long time, when it lives in harmony with society. Globalization is helpful to improve the lives of the people. Culling out experiences from his life, the book is a journey not

only of Infosys, but also a personal narrative of how this country could and should surge ahead. Key questions, such as why India does not boast of any product of international class and recognition are addressed. The book is dedicated to several special persons and organizations. Acknowledgements cover a wide spectrum of persons from family life, work life, others and publications. Generally the speeches are simple in ideas and expression. These suggest some solutions for the problems. These speeches serve to motivate the young to find solutions, work hard andmake the world a better place. This book from an iconic entrepreneur, Mr. N.R. Narayana Murthy (NRN), is simple and straightforward. It is lucid, powerful, stimulating and full of candid wisdom. There is honesty in his understandable anxiety to convey his ideas to young minds with a firm zeal that they will create a better India and so a better world. The complexity called India is well articulated in the book, when he says our politicians, bureaucrats, and the elite have to straddle multiple worlds urban and the rural, the rich and the poor, the educated and the not-so-well-educated. He goes on to write They have to juxtapose the two realities of India to understand and appreciate the complexities and challenges of their task, and create appropriate policies that enhance the hope and confidence of these multiple worlds thatmake up India. Again sample this It is very important to remember that a few million English-speaking Indians do not make up India. Such impressions cannot be conveyed so convincingly without firsthand experience of what the real India is all about. The thought provoking articles in the book exhort student audience to execute ideas rather just articulate them.