Wipro Chairman Azim H Premji has admitted that his company has lagged behind its peers in the IT industry but went out of his way to compliment Wipro's rival TCS.

 

In an exclusive interview to NDTV from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr Premji said "They (TCS) have given exceptional results... kudos to them on that. The market goes to whoever is the star performer at that time, that’s the reality of the investor public and I think in TCS' case it was deserved and in fairness to them…we should have the humility to accept that." He also added, "We (at Wipro) have a hell of a lot of catching up to do."
 
Answering a question on whether his son, Rishad Premji, was being groomed as the successor, he said. "He is not the obvious successor… He is being given a more important role because he is earning it on merit. If he was in the succession race, he would be here in Davos." He admitted that Rishad is working his way up, but said "inheritance does not merit becoming a CEO."
 
Talking on America's protectionist noises and the backlash against outsourcing, Premji said, "I think the US has become over-sensitive on the loss of jobs... I think it’s getting over-hyped up and it will reach even bigger hyping up since elections are coming up."

After his open letters criticising the government, Mr Premji has now taken on the Opposition saying it has been playing a destructive role. "There is a lot of uncertainty from the government in terms of the ability to get bills through because of constant opposition by the Opposition, sometimes to a destructive sense... Everyone is hurting themselves including the Opposition," Mr Premji said.
 
He said India's growth is slowing due to a number of factors. "The government issues…whether it is telecom or other areas of inaction has not earned the government too much credit and it has also shaken some international confidence and put some amount of uncertainty in some Indian business leaders in terms of accelerating investments."
 
Elaborating on the Opposition's role he said, "You don't make yourself big by making somebody else small, that’s the reality of life. You don't win an election by making somebody loose an election. You win on merits. I think the Indian public voting is much too intelligent to get carried away by the gimmicks on a sustained basis."

 
Talking on the foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail fiasco, Mr Premji said, "It was an ill-timed move. In my opinion it was not the right time to bring it. From a global perspective or a national perspective, it was not the most important priority and I think it could have been anticipated that the opposition was in a destructive mood."
 
He said he was hopeful that things would move faster after the elections. "I think you will see a lot of action by the government at the end of elections. A lot of people have realised including the government that they're decelerating growth and I am sure they'll take the bull by the horn now."
 
Speaking on the industry's harsh criticism of the government in recent times he said "I don't think it’s unreasonable… We could have done it with more kid gloves…" But Premji said the advantage of being in a democracy is that industry can speak out against the government on legitimate issues. "In how many countries can you say these things and get away with it."