'Companies must share wealth fairly with employees': Infosys founder Narayana Murthy calls for dignity, fairness in the workplace

Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy has called on Indian businesses to embrace "compassionate capitalism," urging corporations to share wealth fairly with employees while maintaining dignity in the workplace.

Murthy, who was speaking at TiE Con Mumbai 2025, stressed the fact that the need of the hour for businesses is to take employees into confidence and to operate with fairness and respect.

“To praise people in public and criticise in private, and to the extent possible, to share the fruit of the corporation in a fair manner amongst all employees of the company,” Murthy said, highlighting the importance of upholding dignity in the workplace.

Murthy argued that India’s socialist legacy has held back economic growth, and a shift towards capitalism is essential for progress.

“Capitalism is all about providing opportunities for people to come out with new ideas to create wealth for themselves and their investors, to create jobs, and thereby reduce poverty. It also generates tax revenue, which can be used for public good,” he explained.

He stressed that Indian entrepreneurs have a crucial role to play in reshaping public perception of capitalism. Murthy called on business leaders to lead by example and demonstrate that capitalism can drive positive change.

“It is incumbent on every one of us to conduct ourselves in a way that even sceptics will say, 'Yes, there is something good in this thing called capitalism,'” Murthy said. “And to do that, all of us have to become strong evangelists and walk the talk. Just saying great things and not doing them will not be sufficient.”

Freebies vs. Job Creation

Murthy also weighed in on India's growing reliance on subsidies and cash transfers, warning that they are not a sustainable solution to poverty. He emphasised that job creation and entrepreneurship are the keys to lifting people out of poverty.

“Poverty will vanish like dew on a sunny morning if we are able to create innovative enterprises,” he said confidently. “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.”

His comments come amid a broader debate on the economic burden of government giveaways. Currently, India provides free rations to 80 crore people every month, raising questions about the long-term sustainability of such policies.

Clarifying his position, Murthy said that while he does not claim to be an expert on politics or governance, he believes that subsidies should be tied to measurable outcomes.

“If you give free electricity for the first six months, you should evaluate whether children are reading more and if their performance in school improves,” he suggested.