Identify as Indians first and rise above states, religion, caste: Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy

Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy on Thursday urged the countrymen to first identify themselves as Indians and rise above states, religion and caste.

Speaking at an event in Gorakhpur, Narayana Murthy said, " While it's easy to drape ourselves in our national flag and shout 'Mera Bharat Mahaan' or 'Jai Ho', it is difficult to practice values. We have to identify ourselves as Indians first and rise above states, religion and caste."

Speaking further he asked the people to shun away jingoism and added, "Our governments have to become more citizen-friendly and remove obstacles to entrepreneurs to create larger and larger number of jobs. Our economic policies have to be less populist and more based on expertise."

The Infosys co-founder also added that the investor's confidence was at a historic high in the country.

"Our economy is growing at 6 to 7 per cent this year. India has become the software development centre of the world. Our foreign exchange reserve has crossed 400 billion dollar. Investor confidence is at a historic high, " he said.