Narayana Murthy: Smile’s back

Bangalore, Sept. 22: Top executives of infotech companies made peace with the Karnataka government today and decided against boycotting next month’s flagship IT event here after an assurance from chief minister Dharam Singh to spruce up the silicon hub.

“We should not resort to things like boycott of an IT event. The government is conducting the IT event for the sake of the industry,” Infosys chairman N.R. Narayana Murthy said after a meeting between the government and industry captains.

Singh, who had invited the CEOs to the breakfast meet, assured that steps would be taken to improve the city’s infrastructure.

The government also said it would set up a six-member committee with representatives of the IT industry and the state administration to review civic amenities every week. The chief minister will head the panel.

“The government is committed to improving infrastructure. We have political will to do this. The coalition government has already started work on the airport project. Work on metro rail will commence soon,” Singh said.

Today’s meeting, attended by deputy chief minister M.P. Prakash and finance minister P.G.R. Sindhia, was the second the government has held with industry representatives since last week after IT companies threatened to stay away from the state’s yearly event.

After the last meeting, the Congress-led coalition had disclosed plans to spruce up roads and get rid of traffic bottlenecks over the next three months.

The IT.in event drew 280 firms last year. About 100 companies have confirmed participation so far for this year’s event scheduled to begin on October 27, according to official sources.

Murthy said he was “happy” the industry has changed its stand.

“We have created an environment where we will hold discussions and sort out the problems. The important thing is to create a climate that Bangalore is on the move and that will happen soon. We become ambitious because we are comparing ourselves constantly with Shanghai and Singapore. Of course, we need to do things faster,” he told reporters.

During the discussions, Murthy appealed for revival of the Bangalore Agenda Task Force set up by the previous government. “Please bring back the public-private partnership. It was working wonderfully. We should not destroy such institutions,” he said.

After the talks, Anant Koppar, the president of the Bangalore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, explained the reason behind the boycott threat.

“The boycott call was not to disrupt the event but to draw the attention of the authorities to take immediate action to safeguard the city infrastructure. We believe that we have achieved our goal; the government has made a promise, now they have to focus on the areas of their promise and build confidence,” he said in a statement.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairperson of Biocon Ltd, told the government not to compromise on the economic advantages linked with the city.

“This is a time which really calls for a good public-private partnership to address issues that concern citizens of Bangalore and Karnataka. We will all look back on today as a very important inflexion point in Bangalore’s history. The way forward will benefit every one in Karnataka and Bangalore,” she said.

Among the slew of projects aimed at improving amenities in the city are 15 flyovers, restrictions on truck traffic on the road to the Electronics City and a makeover for 10 important avenues.