>> Address by Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro, on the occasion of the 125 years celebrations of “The Hindu” in
Bangalore on November 8, 2003
      Honourable Chief Minister S.M. Krishna, Esteemed Members from “The Hindu”, Distinguished Guests off and on the dais, and friends,

It is a rare honour for me to be with you today. Let me begin my wishing “The Hindu” a very happy 125th birthday. Some say that the Indian press is about two centuries old. The last century, however, has been probably the most eventful. Apart from the freedom struggle, there were many significant social movements towards emancipation and reforms. The press has been a ringside participant in these mega events. Today, the media has grown in size and stature, drawing international attention and investment. The latest National Readership Survey shows that in 2002, there were 156 million readers of daily newspapers in India. This represents an enormous influence on various layers of the society, even if the figures are skewed towards urban readers. As we look ahead, the future looks even more exciting.

By the Goldman Sachs report, India could well be the world's third largest economy in less than 30 years from now, after the United States and China. In fact, India could grow the fastest among all countries at an average 6 per cent, going past Italy, Germany and France in the 2015-2025 time frame and past Japan in 2032. Even post-2050, India may continue to clock some of the highest growth rates in the world. But the report also points out many challenges, which must be overcome along the way.

Let us try and understand why this happened. We have seen a similar phenomenon in manufacturing earlier. The automobile industry, which grew side by side with the American economy, was taken over by the Japanese bringing in superior Quality at lower costs. The Toyotas, Hondas and Mitsubishis became more popular than the Chryslers and the Fords. In microprocessors and PCs, the shift was towards Taiwan and Korea. Again, cost and excellence went side by side in making this transition possible. When it comes to the knowledge economy, people capability in addition to cost and excellence will play a key role. It is important for us to have a clear agenda on how we will make use of this new success combination. And everyone, including the government, business and media will have a role to play in this.

The first challenge is obviously developing our people capability. In this area, we have a curious story to tell. At the Primary Education level, we have a huge job ahead of us. We need to focus on elementary education because it can form a solid foundation for development of India. For this, we must ensure that around 50 million out-of-school children get back into schools and ensure that all children in school are learning. There are many reasons why children drop out. The most important of them is that children do not find it worthwhile to remain in school. They find it threatening, boring and confusing. They do not learn enough. It is up to us to make learning a more interesting and worthwhile experience. And we must communicate the value that education can bring to the lives of the people at the grassroots level. No one can force education. The good thing is we do not have to. The question is not about taking the horse to the water or making it drink. It is about making the horse thirsty and pointing where the water is. It will drink by itself.

At a higher education level, India is a mega education centre. It has over 250 Universities, 1100 Engineering colleges, over 12000-degree colleges and polytechnics and over 170 medical colleges. In the year 2002-03, over 350000 students entered the portals of the Engineering colleges. The pool of technical talent available is thus one of the largest in the world. 20 million people of Indian origin are everywhere in the world. Yet the need for development here is to learn not only the hard technical skills but also the soft skills of cultural sensitivity and interpersonal relationships. This is important if our technical prowess has to translate itself into a global advantage.

Second, we must build a collective conscience of what is right and what is wrong. More than the downturn, which is cyclical, the financial scandals have had more serious and long-term consequences. Apart from the financial loss, it has been a loss in credibility. And it is here that the greatest damage has taken place. Trust is fragile in nature. It takes years of efforts to build trust but only few acts to destroy it. Once it is broken, it is even harder to rebuild. While laws can address this at the regulatory or legal level and the changes in the structure of the Board can address issues of their independent functioning, no act by itself can guarantee ethical behavior. We need to address it at the cultural level. This is the most important issue. This goes to the root of the problem because it deals with human behavior and human motives. This needs continuous beaming of the same message again and again. Let us ensure that what we report is the truth to the best of our knowledge and conviction. The printed word carries enormous credibility. This should not be lost at any cost.

Third, we must simultaneously build a culture of collective self-confidence. Credibility does not mean that we must look at the negative things only. In fact, sensationalizing what is wrong can warp the picture. Let us be known for being an objective and balanced press, highlighting both what is going right and what needs to be changed. None of the recent successes would have been possible if we had not done something right. We must all learn be self-critical without losing our self-confidence.

Fourth, we have to become a nation of hard workers. It was not resources but hard work that transformed other nations such as Japan, after being completely devastated after World War II. It is better to serve like steel than rust and wither away like iron. Steady work builds up both worth and power and keeps one’s conscience in rectitude. We need to work hard and work smart. We have to change our image of India from being a nation of holidays to a nation of people who enjoy hard work.

Fifth, let us create excellence in whatever we do. The technological advances have helped us to improve the quality of our print media tremendously. In fact, I can no longer make out what is printed in India and what is printed overseas. But excellence is not only about technology. It includes creating the right culture, designing world-class processes and training people. But Quality is a moving target. We have to keep getting better or we can only look worse with time.

Sixth, we have to learn how to cheer from the sidelines. Newspapers are not vehicles for publicity. Neither is it important to be always in the limelight. I remember this touching story I came across. This is about a child who was trying out for a part in a school play. His mother knew that the child had set his heart on being in it. On the day the parts were awarded, she heard the teacher giving out the parts to others. The name of her child was not there in the list. When the mother went to collect her child, she was wondering how to handle the deep disappointment. But, surprisingly, the child rushed up to her, eyes shining with pride and excitement. "Guess what Mom," he shouted, "I've been chosen to clap and cheer.”

Finally, we must develop a collective ownership for all the issues facing us. Problems are not for other people to solve. We must look at what each one of us can do. Decades ago, a friend of mine had gone overseas. As he was travelling in a train, he noticed that one of the seats was torn and the cushion was peeping out of the tear. He jokingly told his friend, who was the citizen of the country, “You spoke so much about Quality and now look at the torn seat.” The friend got up and looked at the torn seat carefully. He then reached up, took out a small bag and extricated a needle and thread from it. With complete concentration, he spent the next quarter of an hour and sewed up the tear so neatly that it became almost invisible. My friend was surprised, “Why did you do that? It is the work of the railway department to maintain the coach.” The colleague looked up, with pride sparkling in his eyes “This is the national railway. I am a citizen. It is my railway and hence I must repair what is wrong.” It is only when every one of us feels such a strong ownership will things transform. When we throw a piece of rubbish or break a traffic rule, it is our own home we are spoiling or our own rule that we are disobeying.

Opportunity alone will not suffice, nor will resources. What is needed is the overpowering desire to go beyond the ordinary, to remain undeterred by obstacles along the way and to create something that has never existed before, if we have to succeed in achieving global leadership. As the Upanishads say, “Ultimately, we are what our deepest desires are.”

Let us all work towards building a strong and resurgent nation.

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