About N. Murthy
N. Murthy, co-founder of Infosys, spoke at the Bharat Innovates 2026 event in Nice, France, in an exclusive interview with DD India. He credited Prime Minister Modi's Startup India initiative for fostering India's startup ecosystem over the past decade, calling the opportunity for young entrepreneurs to showcase their work in France a "great opportunity" and something to thank the government for. Murthy contrasted the current environment with the 1980s, noting that while earlier challenges included a lack of venture capital, poor communication, and travel restrictions, today's entrepreneurs face the more difficult task of competing globally with world-class innovations.
Murthy offered advice to young innovators, emphasizing the importance of clearly expressing the differentiated business value of a product or service to customers in a simple sentence. He also stated that leaders must lead by example in sacrifice, austerity, hard work, smart work, innovation, and values.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from N. Murthy's recent appearances.
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✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
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Narrator0:00
Meanwhile, staying with Shubhendu's report now, this is an exclusive conversation with DD India. Infosys founder Narayan Murthy spoke on Bharat Innovates event, and also he highlighted India's growing innovation and deep tech ecosystem. Take a look.
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Interviewer0:17
We are at Bharat Innovates 2026. I have with me somebody who is considered one of the top entrepreneurs of our time. We have with us Mr. Narayan Murthy, founder of Infosys. Good morning and welcome to DD India, sir. Now, the very first question, the first time of this scale Indian startups and talent ecosystem is being showcased outside of India. What are your thoughts on Bharat Innovates?
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N. Murthy0:41
Well, I think India has been in the last decade or so done a good job in the startup ecosystem, thanks to Prime Minister Modi's Startup India initiative. They are in various fields, including high-tech. And therefore, this opportunity of our young entrepreneurs to come to France, a country known for innovation, and to demonstrate what all the good things that it has done. I think it's a great opportunity, and I'm very happy. I think this is something that we must all thank the government of India for having done it.
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Interviewer1:29
So, we know that in the 1980s you laid the foundation of a billion-dollar company, a global brand, Infosys. Could you give us in brief a picture of how were the circumstances then and now for new startups and innovators?
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N. Murthy1:43
Well, those days there was no venture capital. Software was not recognized as a collateral. Banks therefore did not give any term loans. Communication was very poor. Getting a telephone took 7-8 years. There were no high-speed data communication lines. Traveling abroad was very difficult because we didn't even have current account convertibility. We had to apply to RBI, wait for 15-20 days. So, it was a very difficult time, but today those problems are not there. Today, the problems are different. The problems are even more difficult. Our entrepreneurs will have to compete the best in the world, bring about world-class innovations and then succeed. So, I would say that the job of today's entrepreneurs is a lot more difficult than the job of the entrepreneurs in the '70s and '80s.
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Interviewer2:55
And so, finally, from your vast experience, what is that one learning that you'd like to share with so many young innovators present at Bharat Innovates?
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N. Murthy3:05
Well, the most important thing is to express the value of your product or your service to the customer in a way that they see a differentiated business value compared to all other existing products. That is, express the business value that you provide in a simple sentence, not a compound sentence, not a complex sentence. Second, the leaders have to lead by example in sacrifice, in austerity, in hard work, in smart work, in innovation, values, etc. That's all there is to it.
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Narrator3:49
So, thank you very much for speaking with DD India. That was iconic entrepreneur Mr. R. Murthy talking about his thoughts on what he innovates, his own learnings. Camera person Aniket Dubey, Shubendu Ghosh for DD India, Nice.
