Bengaluru: Everyone has a problem with Bengaluru’s poor infrastructure and wants to see the Garden City in all its blooming glory. Raising the infrastructure issue now and urging the government to act were two men who put the City on the global map.
Addressing the gathering at the inauguration of Invest Karnataka-2016, Infosys Chairman Emeritus N R Narayana Murthy said youth across the country wanted to begin their career in tech city Bengaluru.
Asking the government to help make Bengaluru more liveable, Murthy said, “The reality of my (IT) industry is that the youngsters, both from within Karnataka and other parts of India, all want to be in Bengaluru.”
Despite efforts to convince youngsters to start their careers in cities such as Mysuru, Mangaluru as well as places like Bhubaneswar, Thiruvananthapuram, Indore and Nagpur, he said, “The reality is that our youngsters want to work in Bengaluru.”
“Therefore I request Minister (Industries) Deshpande and the chief minister to help us make Bengaluru more liveable, provide whatever infrastructure are needed to ensure that there is access to educational facilities,” he said.
Murthy also requested the government to make commuting easier and provide healthcare facilities.
Pointing out that Bengaluru contributed 38 per cent of the IT industry’s contribution to the country’s GDP, the Infosys co-founder said it translated to somewhere around $35 billion, including $28 billion in terms of exports.
Great expectations
“Karnataka has already done a very good job, so the expectations from Karnataka are even higher, and I believe that with proper intervention from the government of Karnataka, this industry has the potential to add even greater value to the economy of Karnataka,” he said.
Wipro Chairman Azim Premji said, “Our experience is that the source of the best technical talent in the country is in Bengaluru and the reason is in spite of Bangaluru’s infrastructure problem it has very, very nice climate, strong science background and extremely cosmopolitan nature.”
Stating that Wipro has a very deep and long-time commitment to Karnataka, Premji said that his company employed more than 55,000 people. “It really endorses the fact that Karnataka is a very hospitable and very progressive state,” he said.