A look into the life of Indian billionaire and the co-founder of Infosys, Narayana Murthy and the infamous controversies or debates that he has been a part of in recent years.
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy, better known as Narayana Murthy is the co-founder of Infosys, which is one of the biggest companies in the information and technology sector. As per multiple reports, Narayana Murthy has retired and currently holds the title of chairman emeritus at Infosys. The billionaire has served as the CEO, president and chief mentor when he was actively working. Still, he has taken a back seat and is directing the company with his visionary suggestions and ideas.
In recent years, Narayana Murthy has also started giving a lot of interviews in the media, from sharing his valuable experiences to sharing his thoughts about the future of IT and AI, and much more, he never skips a chance to present his view in front of the world. However, there have been instances when the billionaire was caught in controversies due to his revelations.
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In the age of social media, the comment section of reels or shorts has become a battleground for people to engage in a war of words. Time and again, we have seen a random clip of Narayana Murthy's interview posted on social media without giving the full context, which has triggered many people as they misunderstood it because of the half-knowledge about his statement.
Well, this is not just Narayana Murthy's story but almost every celebrity or public figure whose thoughts and statements are listened to by the masses. However, there have been some instances in the past when Narayana Murthy indulged in some controversies, and today, we are going to take a look at it. So, without further ado, let's take a look at Narayana Murthy's infamous controversies.
It was in October 2023 when Narayana Murthy was a guest on 3one4 Capital's podcast, The Record, in which he talked about a series of things related to the work culture in India. When the billionaire was asked to share his thoughts on the weekly working hours in India, Narayana Murthy stated that Indians should start working 70 hours a week. Not only this, he also added that India's productivity is the lowest in the world. Narayana Murthy also compared Indian work culture to Germany and Japan, sharing how the two countries made their citizens work for extended hours post World War II.
As soon as the statement made it sway on the internet, Narayana Murthy received a lot of criticism. While the netizens and a series of industry experts asked some serious questions in response to the billionaire's criticism of the Indian workforce, some people were on Narayan's side. One of the biggest names that defended Narayana Murthy was famous industrialist, Sajjan Jindal, who cited the example of India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and said that the latter work 14-16 hours a day.
On the other side, a famous Bengaluru-based cardiologist, Dr. Deepak Krishnamurthy opposed Narayana Murthy's advice for Indians to work for 70 hours a week. The cardiologist explained how youngsters are already struggling to cope with mental illness and are not taking good care of their health. Deepak also added that in recent years, we have seen a sudden rise in youngsters having heart attacks, which is again an alarming situation, but hardly anyone talks about it. The cardiologist was backed by a lot of netizens, who are also against Narayana Murthy's 70-hour workweek comment.
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In the initial months of 2023, Narayana Murthy and his wife, Sudha Murthy attended an interactive session with the students of IIT Kanpur. During which, the billionaire talked about Bollywood actress, Kareena Kapoor Khan and how he found her behaviour towards her fans a bit disrespectful. Recalling the incident, Narayana revealed that when he was coming back to India from London, Kareena was sitting next to him.
Sharing how Kareena Kapoor Khan didn't react to her fans, who were greeting her and wanted a selfie or an autograph, Narayana Murthy admitted that he was disappointed with the way she reacted to her fans. On the other hand, the entrepreneur shared how he stood and talked to every single person, who came to him. He said:
"So many people came to her (Kareena Kapoor Khan) and said hello, and she didn't even bother to react. I was a little bit surprised. Whosoever came to me, I stood up, we spoke for a minute or half a minute. That's all that they were expecting."
When the statement made its way on the internet, a lot of people criticised for judging Kareena Kapoor Khan without knowing anything about her temperament or health at that moment in time. People suggested he shouldn't have shared his judgmental thoughts in public like that. However, with time, the sand was settled, and the controversy was off from the news headlines.
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In October 2023, reports were rife that Akshata Murty, who is the daughter of Indian billionaire Narayana Murthy has decided to close down her company, Catamaran Ventures. For the unversed, it is a startup co-founded by Akshata and her husband and UK President, Rishi Sunak.
The firm, which managed over USD 1 billion in assets, faced scrutiny for alleged connections to government-funded initiatives and a history of failed ventures. The decision to shutter Catamaran Ventures follows concerns about its ties to taxpayer money and a pattern of unsuccessful startups. Narayana Murthy's name was also dragged into the controversy as he reportedly backed the company.
What are your thoughts on Narayana Murthy's controversies? Let us know.
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