Amritsar, January 31 – Guru Nanak Dev University would confer Doctor of Science (D.sc.) Honoris Causa degrees upon Mr. N.R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman-Emeritus, Infosys Technologies Limited, Electronics City, Bangalore at its 38th Annual Convocation being held on February 1 i.e. tomorrow at the Dasmesh Auditorium.
This honorary degree to Mr. N.R. Narayana Murthy is being awarded by the University in recognition of his commendable contribution in the field of technology.
Stating this, Dr. Inderjit Singh, Registrar said that Governor of Punjab and Chancellor of the University, Honorable Shivraj Vishwanath Patil would preside over this convocation. He said that Mr. N.R. Narayana Murthy would deliver the Convocation Address.
He said that the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ajaib Singh Brar on this occasion would welcome the Governor of Punjab and other dignitaries. He would also read out citation highlighting the splendid contribution of Mr. N.R. Narayana Murthy before the award of honorary degree.
He said that the Governor of Punjab would also award Ph.D., M.Phil., M.Tech., LL.M., M.Sc., MBA, MBE, M.Com., M.A., B.Tech., B.Sc., LL.B., BCA, BBA, B.Com. and B.A. degrees and medals to more than 850 scholars on this occasion.
Registrar said that Dr. Narayana Murthy rose to the extraordinary heights of being an iconic businessman, a synonym of IT revolution in India and a corporate manager par excellence who is now a mentor and an ideal to millions of young aspirants. He said that Infosys, Murthy’s small joint project founded in 1981 with the borrowed seed money of rupees ten thousand, is today worth over six billion dollars having global footprints with 65 development centres in scores of countries. He said that Infosys pioneered the global delivery model which redefined business procedures, promoting outsourcing and resulting in optimum utilization of talent and local sources. Besides providing consultancy and development services to business and technology, Infosys has played a ground-breaking role in Indian banking industry with the launch of its ‘Finacle’ an e-banking solution software.
He said that the hard work, commitment and vision that Dr. Narayan Murthy invested in Infosys not only led his company to the top, but also made him an international cult figure. At home and abroad he has been felicitated, feted and decorated with awards and prizes by leading world organisations. Among others, he has been the recipient of Padma Vibhushan, (India), Officer of the Legion of Honor (France), Commander of the Order of the British Empire (UK), Max Schmidheiny Freedom Prize (Switzerland), Woodrow Wilson Award (US), Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award (Forbes).
In 2006, TIME magazine voted him one of the Asian Heroes of the last 60 years bracketing him with leaders like Mahatama Gandhi, Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa. Unlike others, at 65, Mr. Murthy took ‘sanyas’ from his corporate home, Infosys; yet he has not ceased working and is actively involved in corporate philanthropy which he and his associates started long back. He is a quiet contributor who thinks the developing countries need big initiatives in education, health and food.