Corruption hurting India's image abroad, says Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy

NEW DELHI: At a time when the country is grappling with a spate of scams, Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy has said that corruption issues has taken a toll on India's goodwill abroad.

"... the goodwill for India that exists a couple of years ago, has gotten diminished now. There is no doubt. It is absolutely clear," Murthy said in response to a question on whether issues of corruption are damaging India's reputation abroad.

In an interview to a television channel, Murthy, who would step down as Infosys Chairman later this year, said "there is no doubt" that India's good will has come down globally due to corruption issues.

"... I meet on an average about 30-40 new people every month and and out of that I would say at least about a third have spoken to me on that, in other words about 10-12 people every month," Murthy, a well reputed business leader, said.

Stressing that he was not criticising the country, Murthy said that these are "the facts that I have received from outside people. These are not my words or my perceptions".

Murthy's comments come at a time when there are rising concerns about corruption issues adversely impacting India's business environment.

In recent times, a spate of scams, including those related to 2G spectrum allocation and Commonwealth Games, have come to light.

On the handling of the Lokpal issue, Murthy said the Government could have done a better job in dealing with the civil society demands.

"... for the UPA to kind of put themselves in such a situation is sad.

"I personally feel that a party led by somebody of the stature of Sonia Gandhi, or a coalition led by somebody extraordinary like Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh and Pranab Mukherjee who is another fantastic minister, I personally feel they could have done a much better job in dealing with the demands of the civil society," he noted.

Murthy said that what civil society is asking for is something good for the country. "All that they are saying is that no one should be above the law," he added.