Impossible to sell “India story,” says Infosys chief

[Baby Leone]

NEW DELHI: One of India’s top businessmen has slammed the government over its economic policies, saying it is no longer possible to sell the “India story”.

Companies have long griped about India’s Byzantine rules and suffocating bureaucracy, but perceived inconsistency in government policy, stalled economic reforms and a spate of political scandals have soured the investment mood.

“The world expected a lot from us,” NR Narayana Murthy, chairman emeritus of Bangalore-based software giant Infosys, said in a televised interview Saturday.

“We have fallen far short of expectations and it’s no longer possible to sell the ‘India story’,” Murthy told ET NOW, referring to investor expectations that Asia’s third-largest economy would be a turbo-charged performer.

“I meet a lot of chief executives outside India and earlier India was mentioned once every three times China was mentioned. But now, if China is mentioned 30 times, India is not even mentioned once,” he said.

The attack by Murthy, who founded one of India’s largest software giants, on the Congress government of Premier Manmohan Singh was unusually outspoken for an Indian businessman.

“We have cut our own legs off by our inaction, by our policies,” Murthy said.

Data Friday showed India’s growth remained stuck at three-year lows of 5.5 per cent, a high figure by developed nations’ standards but far below the near double-digit growth of much of the past decade.

Murthy said that controversial anti-tax-avoidance rules proposed earlier this year that included a plan to tax takeovers retroactively had spooked foreign investors. The government is now reviewing the plans.

To “change the law on a retrospective basis is actually like taking a pistol and shooting ourselves”, he told India’s NDTV.

Overseas-investor confidence has tumbled with foreign direct investment for the quarter to June sliding year-on-year by 67 per cent to $4.43 billion.

India’s ability to attract foreign investment is crucial because it urgently needs funds to upgrade dilapidated airports, roads, ports and other infrastructure in order to ease bottlenecks and spur slowing economic growth.

Impossible to sell

soo the bubble hav burst now....

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

“I meet a lot of chief executives outside India and earlier India was mentioned once every three times China was mentioned. But now, if China is mentioned 30 times, India is not even mentioned once,” he said.

Businesses are result-orientated. They want results, not excuses as to why the results are not there.

 

[RazPaK]

Businesses are result-orientated. They want results, not excuses as to why the results are not there.

The Indians have a problem with exercising humility. Even when Pakistanis have clearly spanked them in battle, the standard Indian response is to clutch at straws. I believe humility is the first step towards self empowerment.
We Pakistanis respect China because Chinese people don't talk a lot.

The problem with India is that they boast too much and most of the time- their actions cannot keep up with their mouth.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

The problem with India is that they boast too much and most of the time- their actions cannot keep up with their mouth.

This is very true. Here is a very good example of this:

Wall Street Journal - Review & Outlook: India Fades

It was only last summer that the Indian government forecast that the economy would grow at an annual rate of 9.0% to 9.5% for the next half-decade.

So it came as a shock Thursday when new data revealed the economy slowed to a 5.3% annual clip in the January-March quarter.

It was only last summer that the Indian government was saying that India would be growing at 9.5% for the next half-decade!

Now.... they are growing at a pretty constant rate of around 5%. That is the difference between boasting and reality.

 

[Baby Leone]

Businesses are result-orientated. They want results, not excuses as to why the results are not there.

but its amazing tht their obession is still with china more than their own economic condition lol

they are not concern about their condition but are concerned about no one mention india when they mention China...

thanks God they didnt blame ISI for their corupt democracy.....

 

[indian_jigar]

India’s ability to attract foreign investment is crucial because it urgently needs funds to upgrade dilapidated airports, roads, ports and other infrastructure in order to ease bottlenecks and spur slowing economic growth.[/B]

This 1000 times. Infrastructure needs huge upgradation to keep pace with developing growth figures, where the Congress has failed miserably. 2014 cannot come soon enough to throw out the trash and bring BJP and Modi in. They will do a much better job of fixing India, I am sure of it.

 

[Awesome]

Perhaps the problem was that you were selling a story...

 

[indian_jigar]

Perhaps the problem was that you were selling a story...

No, the problem is Congress as Mr Murthy has suggested. The sooner they leave Govt, the better for the nation.

 

[illusion8]

Perhaps the problem was that you were selling a story...

It was all good till it lasted the EU messed it up for us by going bankrupt.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

It was all good till it lasted the EU messed it up for us by going bankrupt.

More excuses.

No one forced the Indian Government to boast that India would be growing at 9.5% for the next half-decade.

 

[illusion8]

More excuses.

No one forced the Indian Government to boast that India would be growing at 9.5% for the next half-decade.

Are you saying that there's no global slowdown? or that EU is not in trouble? or that the export market pie has shrunk drastically recently? these are a few facts multiplied by a couple more other internal problems like some major scams which has discredited the present congress government which has influenced the opposition to stop parliamentary proceedings leading to halt in passing of bills and also because its a coalition government which hampers it to pass resolutions.

But the major reason is global slowdown.

I

ndia would be growing at 9.5% for the next half-decade.

So estimates have gone awry, as if that hasn't happened before! so sue us.

 

[indian_jigar]

More excuses.

No one forced the Indian Government to boast that India would be growing at 9.5% for the next half-decade.

Don't know why your a*s is burning on this issue.

It was a forecast made by Indian economists, and went wrong. Just like the US didnt expect to lose close to 500 million dollars in 2008-2009 but it happened.

Also, you might never have lived in a democracy, but these politicians have votes to run for so they do sometimes say things that are outlandish to gain an extra few votes. We that have lived here know how to deal with them.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

Are you saying that there's no global slowdown? or that EU is not in trouble? or that the export market pie has shrunk drastically recently? these are a few facts multiplied by a couple more other internal problems like some major scams which has discredited the present congress government which has influenced the opposition to stop parliamentary proceedings leading to halt in passing of bills and also because its a coalition government which hampers it to pass resolutions.

But the major reason is global slowdown.

What happened to "India's economy is based on domestic consumption so we are not as vulnerable to external slowdowns, as opposed to export-based economies like China"?

Don't know why your a*s is burning on this issue.

Why would my @ss be burning? We don't use such phrases from the subcontinent anyway.

India's growth has fallen to 5% and they are being downgraded left and right by S&P, Fitch, Moody, etc. due to India's poor economic fundamentals. Such as having the worst fiscal and trade deficit in the BRIC economies.

So what reason exactly would there be.... for anyone's "@ss to burn"?

 

[holysaturn]

The Indians have a problem with exercising humility. Even when Pakistanis have clearly spanked them in battle, the standard Indian response is to clutch at straws. I believe humility is the first step towards self empowerment.
We Pakistanis respect China because Chinese people don't talk a lot.

The problem with India is that they boast too much and most of the time- their actions cannot keep up with their mouth.

replace the name india with pakistan and pakistan with india,now its even more precise...........

 

[Agni5000]

The Indians have a problem with exercising humility. Even when Pakistanis have clearly spanked them in battle, the standard Indian response is to clutch at straws. I believe humility is the first step towards self empowerment.
We Pakistanis respect China because Chinese people don't talk a lot.

The problem with India is that they boast too much and most of the time- their actions cannot keep up with their mouth.

Which battle son? do you have habit of wet dreams?