Infosys ahead of the rest of the world, says Sonia

Infosys is a "stunning reminder" of what talent, ingenuity and hard work can accomplish, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi said today.

"You have shown to India and the world that an Indian company can not only be world class, but be ahead of the rest of the world", the Congress President said after inaugurating the company's Global Education Centre-II here.

She said Infosys' success, India's second largest software exporter, should not be measured in dollars alone, but in terms of the difference it makes in transforming the society.

On the Indian IT industry, Gandhi said the success of Infosys, Wipro and Tata Consultancy Services and so many other companies has changed the lives of millions of Indians and propelled the country's economy to a record-breaking growth.

Gandhi also spoke of the enabling environment created by the government to promote the growth of IT companies.

Recalling the groundwork laid down by her husband Rajiv Gandhi for the revolution in communication and IT, she said that Rajiv faced "bitter political opposition" to his vision, not just in introduction of computers; his greater challenge was on "mind-shift" of people in terms of accepting new ideas.

Gandhi said Infosys stands today as the embodiment of the climate of opportunity that was created earlier in India and was strengthened in recent years.

What was admirable was that Infosys' success carried with it an ethics of social responsibility and the firm was generous in sharing profits with its employees and the public at large, she said.

Infosys' Global Education Centre (both centres here) is the largest corporate education centre in the world, the company said, noting its infrastructure and size of operations.

Located in the 337 acre Infosys Mysore campus, the total capacity of the Centre has been enhanced to educate 14,000 employees (GEC-I 4,500 and GEC-II 9,500).

Infosys' total investment in the Mysore campus is Rs 2,055 crore, of which Rs 350 crore has been invested in construction of software development blocks and related services and Rs 1,705 crore on education and training -related infrastructure, the NASDAQ-listed firm said.

"In 2008-09, more than 16,000 new entrants were trained, and this financial year around 16,000 more are expected to be trained through this (foundation) programme", the company's Chairman and Chief Mentor, N R Narayana Murthy said.