Stop calling India an IT superpower: Narayana Murthy

After two decades of being in the information technology business, India is still a 'toddler' with only 2 per cent of global market share, according to N R Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Chief Mentor, Infosys Technologies Ltd.

"We are just toddling; hence we should stop terming ourselves as an IT superpower," Murthy said in his address on 'Key challenges and strategies to offshoring: the political perspective' at 'Nasscom 2004 - India Leadership Forum' in Mumbai on Thursday.

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"Politicians, administrators and the media should stop saying that we are a superpower," he said and added that the country has a long way to go, both in terms of quantity and quality of services.

In fact, despite India's low market share, global IT majors have begun to consider certain Indian companies like Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Satyam as a 'threat' to their businesses, he pointed out.

He also said the growing opposition to outsourcing of jobs in the United States was a 'sensitive issue,' which had to be dealt with 'sensibly.'

"It should not be sensationalised and carried on the front pages of Indian newspapers, especially when the US is facing an election year," he said.

He also said the Indian government should liberalise its internal policies, before asking other countries to liberalise their views.