RBI made UPI a public good by making it less expensive for users: NR Narayana Murthy
New Delhi, Jan 24
The Reserve Bank of India has been a catalytic, kind, wise and eternal enabler, making UPI a public good by making it less expensive for users and accessible -- thereby earning trust of the common man, according to NR Narayana Murthy, Founder of Infosys.
"When you have leaders who have high aspirations and are well intentioned, you can transform the nation", he highlighted during an event in Bengaluru.
Murthy said that if you want to build an organisation with strong values and want to protect the dignity of every employee, "you, as a leader, has to walk the talk. Value will not come from speeches, but from actions. Values, discipline, strong leadership and compassionate capitalism will take the society/country forward".
During a fireside chat with Dr. Balakrishnan Mahadevan, Post Doctoral Fellow, IIM Bangalore, at the Center for Digital Public Goods at the institute, Murthy discussed his perspective on the values, governance principles and institutional choices that underpinned India's digital payments transformation.
He said that technology is a perishable commodity.
"Till now, India has been following an oral tradition, as against a written one, in terms of documentation of organisational progress. But how institutions are built, the sacrifices, challenges and constraints involved, the foibles of leaders, complexity of working in teams, how working on the leading edge of technology is, how contributions to society are made, are valuable information," he noted.
All these will add to the compendium of institutional memory, and the foundations of India's progress will rest on such key knowledge and information by modern authors, said Murthy.
According to him, the most important lesson is making the code a public code which is low cost.
"This will prevent monopoly and create the platform for innovation. Combining innovation with sturdy foundation needs top quality leaders," he said.
Stating that leaders should follow a simple life without any vulgar display of wealth, he told the students, "You, the future leaders, are the evangelists of compassionate capitalism, who will take the society/country forward. That will encourage entrepreneurship as well."
— IANS
Reader Comments
Murthy sir is right about leaders walking the talk. We need more compassionate capitalism in India, not just profit-driven models. UPI's success shows what good governance can achieve.
Making the code public and low-cost is brilliant. It prevents big tech monopolies and allows Indian startups to innovate on top of it. Jai Hind!
As someone who has lived abroad, I can say UPI is far ahead of many Western payment systems. The adoption rate in India is phenomenal. A true digital public good.
While UPI is great, I hope the focus on "compassionate capitalism" extends to ensuring fair wages and working conditions in the tech sector itself. Leaders must practice what they preach.
The point about moving from an oral to a written tradition for institutional memory is crucial. We need to document our tech journeys properly so future generations can learn and build.
Interesting perspective. The US could learn from India's approach to digital public infrastructure. Keeping it affordable and accessible is key to widespread adoption.
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