Land of Lime

A memo to:

Sri N. R. Narayanamurthy, Chief Mentor, Infosys
Sri Nandan Nilekani, CEO, Infosys
Sri Mohandas Pai, CFO, Infosys

Dear Sirs,

As a former shareholder in your esteemed company, I read with great interest stories in all the national business dailies on your third quarter perfmorance. While the volatility in rupee seems to have impacted marginally your profitability, you still continue to be the shining star of a new Indian economy. I am also gratified to learn that your employee headcount will reach fifty thousand very soon and you intend to continue your impressive growth.

However, a small story in Star of Mysore, a Mysore based evening newspaper caught my attention and motivated me to offer you a humble suggestion. I realize that you three have been responsible for one of modern India’s great entrepreneurial successes and in addition, you have a great group of managers in your company. I have also keenly followed the involvement of Infosys in exploring new forms of Public-Private Participation (especially through the Bangalore Agenda Task Force) in formulating new public policy to resolve infrastructural problems that plague our cities, especially Bangalore. Therefore, I do not presume to offer you lessons in how to run and expand your business. Yet, I beg your indulgence and pray for a patient hearing to someone who has had a stake in the robust growth of your company in the past and continues to be a well wisher.

Mysore campus - 1

It is reported that you would like to invest outside of Karnataka, since Bangalore (and Mangalore too) does not have the space or the necessary infrastructure to accommodate any expansion. Even after all these years, Bangalore hasn’t solved its power, communication water, road and traffic problems nor has the new airport been built. Like you, I also do not expect the state government to create the necessary infrastructure and build a world class city. I fully sympathize with your predicament and appreciate how these shortcomings could adversely affect your business prospects. You have every right to look for opportunities elsewhere.

Having said that, my suggestion pertains to only one part of your present predicament. I believe you have been unable to secure 845 acres of land in Bangalore necessary for your expansion plans. I do not know how you wish to utilize this land and if your present campuses are taken as models, then I think you would want to provide all amenities (from multiplex to cricket stadiums, including bookstores and restaurants) to your employees. I applaud your desire to create a private self contained universe for your employees, so that they will not have to deal with the hoi polloi. Apparently, you also want to build world class hotels in your campus for the exclusive use of your guests, so that they wouldn’t have to bothered by traffic, beggars and other such problems.

I think your reasoning is impeccable and your plans ought to be implemented. Since I would like to see you expand in Bangalore itself, I would like to offer my simple plan as a solution to address your land needs.

Please DO NOT approach the Karnataka State Government or its agencies for land. It is beneath your dignity and in any case, why do you want to ask for land at a subsidized rate. You are a strong and proud capitalist private company, with Rs. 3,000 crore in cash reserve. Identify a village near Bangalore and if you offer a generous price (let us say, a crore per acre), I am sure you could negotiate with all the villagers to sell their land to you. Actually, you could retain a powerful politician to do all this work. In fact, I even have a recommendation: former minister and senior Congress leader, D.K. Shivakumar, who has a strong base in and around Bangalore. He is also trustworthy since he is a follower of your good friend, S M Krishna, the former chief minister of Karnataka. DKS will make sure all the farmers would sell their land to Infosys at a reasonable price and he will also get all the necessary clearances from the state government. I suspect we could convince him to collect his commission from the farmers and from your side, settle for the good press coverage he would receive as a pro-IT industry politician.

Since you believe in the virtues of free market, this is perhaps the most sensible solution. Personally, I think Bangalore sucks. I am a kannadiga but I cannot stay for more than two nights in Bangalore. I really do not understand how the three of you manage, even if you drive fancy cars and live in comfortable houses. The traffic is bad, power and water supply is unreliable and the airport sucks. So if you also share this assessment, and if you think the future is bleak, strike out Bangalore as I have done from my list of places to live. I know that the weather is nice, people are cultured, accommodating and speak English. But when you have enough money to build a private, parallel universe for your employees, why do you give a damn about any of this? You can build a city anywhere.

Pune campus

It’s simple, guys. Buy land at market rates or go somewhere else.

By the way, if you are interested, I have a small plot in Mysore, not far away from your campus. You could build whatever you want. A nice apartment complex for your employees would make a lot of sense. I am open to selling or leasing it to you or to your official builders, Shobha Developers. I don’t dig Bangalore and Mysore isn’t big enough for me. I will let you have it, if you pay me enough money to buy a small apartment in Manhattan and a cottage in the south of France, where I will retire, drink wine and write.

What say you?

sincerely,

chandrashines@landoflime.com