Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys Ltd. blames the Indian “know-it-all attitude” for holding the nation’s cities back from achieving world class status. Murthy was speaking at the Independence Day Lit Live lecture in Mumbai last week.
The biggest challenge for all of us, not just politicians or bureaucrats, is that we, Indians, have the highest ego per unit of achievement. I would humbly request, we be open-minded to those who have performed better than us.
Given India’s “massive urban shift” (migration from rural to urban India) all over the country, Murthy said better management of urban problems is necessary to achieve this status.
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Murthy said that cities need to build a framework consisting of spatial planning, municipal capacities (both human and financial), political leadership, and transparency with accountability.
We need clear ownership for a city as a whole and also for smaller geographic and functional units within it. A directly elected mayor can be the ultimate goal, but interim measures that fix ownership and accountability clearly on one leader is a must. That leader cannot directly be the Chief Minister of State, like is the case with all our major cities. It needs to be someone whose day job is to govern the city, and someone whose tenure is reasonable.
Domestic and international competitiveness should push Indian cities towards better infrastructure, transport, and amenities, he added.
A company like Amazon or Infosys will evaluate the competitiveness of Bengaluru vs Manila or Shanghai before it decides to expand operations. Similarly, Mumbai will have to compete with the likes of Hong Kong, Dubai and Singapore when it comes to a piece of global financial business. India’s competitors are all working to a plan, a strategy to provide the best quality of life to its citizens, attract the best talent and position themselves as the most attractive destination for investment.