'No country has ever eliminated poverty with freebies': Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy
Mumbai: Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy has criticised the practice of offering freebies by political parties to win elections, underscoring that such handouts play no role in poverty alleviation, media reports said.
Murthy said job creation, not freebies, will eliminate poverty in India.
According to an NDTV report, emphasising the impact of employment generation through innovation while addressing the entrepreneurs' grouping, he said, “Poverty will ‘vanish’ like dew on a sunny morning if entrepreneurs can create innovative enterprises.”
He also warned that no country has ever succeeded in eliminating poverty by resorting to freebies.
"I have no doubt that each of you will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, and that is how you solve the problem of poverty. You don't solve the problem of poverty by freebies; no country has succeeded in that," the 78-year-old billionaire businessman was quoted as saying by NDTV.
It is important to assess if such free handouts lead to positive outcomes.
He suggested that benefits should come with incentives or conditions in return.
Giving an example of free electricity up to 200 units per month, he proposed that the state conduct random surveys after six months to assess whether children's study time has increased or if parents are taking greater interest in their child's education.
Murthy said he had limited knowledge of politics or governance but offered recommendations from a policy framework standpoint.
Earlier, Murthy had sparked a debate last year by suggesting that young people should be ready to work 70-hour weeks.
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