Narayana Murthy anguished as Infosys blames him for Sikka's resignation

News Network
August 18, 2017

Bengaluru, Aug 18: In the latest development in Vishal Sikka's resignation, Infosys company has directly blamed its promoter founder NR Narayana Murthy for the cause.

An official statement by the company said, "Murthy's continuous assault, including this latest letter, is the primary reason that the CEO, Vishal Sikka, has resigned despite strong board support."

The statement also added that it has come to the attention of the company's board that "a letter authored by Murthy, the Founder of Infosys has been released to various media houses attacking the integrity of the Board and Management of the Company alleging falling corporate governance standards in the Company."

The company's board takes great umbrage to the contents of the letter and has called Murthy's allegations as "factual inaccuracies, already-disproved rumours, and statements extracted out of context from his conversations with Board members."

The company also said that despite trying to engage with Murthy within the boundaries of law and without compromising its independence but these dialogues have not been successful.

The statement alleged, "Murthy has made repeatedly made inappropriate demands which are inconsistent with his stated desire for stronger governance."

The company’s board has also assured its shareholders, employees, customers and communities that “it is committed not to be distracted by this misguided campaign by Murthy and will continue to adhere to the highest international standards of corporate governance as it executes its strategy of profitable growth for the benefit of all Infosys stakeholders”.

The company also said that ‘Murthy’s campaign against the board and the company’ has hindered the company’s efforts to transform itself.

The Board has been engaged in a dialogue with the Founder to resolve his concerns over the course of a year, trying earnestly to find feasible solutions within the boundaries of law and without compromising its independence. These dialogues have unfortunately not been successful.

“The Board declines to speculate about Murthy’s motive for carrying out this campaign, including the latest letter. The Board believes it must set the record straight on the false and misleading charges made by Murthy because his actions and demands are damaging the Company and misrepresent its commitment to good corporate governance,” the company said in a statement.

Since Vishal Sikka was appointed as MD and CEO in August 2014, Infosys has delivered competitive financial performance through profitable revenue growth. Infosys has, under the leadership of Vishal, developed and articulated a strategy to transform itself to meet the rapidly changing needs of the marketplace in the 21st century. The Company was lagging significantly behind industry in growth rates when Vishal took over and now we are in top quartile from a performance perspective, the company said.

Infosys has grown in revenues, from $2.13 billion in Q1FY15 to $2.65 billion this past Q1. This was done while keeping a strong focus on margins, closing this past quarter at 24.1% operating margin, beating some competitors for the first time in many years, and improving against nearly everyone in the industry.

The revenue per employee of the Company has grown for six quarters in a row. Attrition has fallen, from 23.4% in Q1FY15 to 16.9% this past Q1, and high performer attrition is much lower than the overall Company attrition.

The Company grew its $100 million+ clients from 12 in Q1FY15 to 18 this past Q1 and increased its large deal wins from approximately $1.9 billion in FY15 to about $3.5 billion this past year. This has all been done while improving overall utilisation (excluding trainees), to a 15-year high this past quarter, and an all-time high including trainees, while improving our cash reserves, rewarding Infoscions with a new equity plan, and returning Rs 19,000 crore as dividend (including dividend distribution tax) over the last three years. This has all been done while improving standing with clients, to the highest ever in the 12 years with a jump of 22 points in CXO satisfaction.

Extremely Anguished

Meanwhile, Infosys Co-Founder N R Narayana Murthy on Friday said he was extremely anguished by the allegations, tone and tenor of the statements made by the company's board.

In a statement issued to the media post the resignation of Vishal Sikka as MD and CEO of Infosys, Murthy said, "I voluntarily left the Board in 2014 and am not seeking any money, position for my children or power. My concern primarily was the deteriorating standard of corporate governance which I have repeatedly brought to the notice of the Infosys Board," he said.

Murthy said in the statement that it was below his dignity to respond to such baseless insinuations. "However, several shareholders who have read the whistle-blower report have told me that it is hard to believe a report produced by a set of lawyers hired by a set of accused, giving a clean chit to the accused, and the accused refusing to disclose why they got a clean chit!. They say that this is not the way an impartial and objective investigation should be held."

Murthy said he will reply to these allegations in the right manner and in the right forum and at the appropriate time.
 

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News Network
May 10,2024

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A day after National Commission for Women said no woman from Hassan approached the national body to file complaints against Karnataka MP Prajwal Revanna, a new FIR accusing BJP leader Devaraje Gowda of abusing and assaulting a woman has come to light.

The FIR against Gowda was filed by a woman at the Holenarasipura town police station on April 1, after her husband had filed a complaint against the BJP leader on March 30. 

The purported victim's husband has alleged in his plaint that Gowda barged into their home, and threatened the couple while the BJP leader also abused the woman.

Gowda, notably, flagged Prajwal Revanna's case to the saffron party.

Reacting to the allegations levelled against him, the BJP politico posted a video on Facebook where he details how he met the woman and her husband in his office. He also claims that the allegations against him are a plot and false.

It must be noted here that a Special Investigation Team is currently probing the sexual assault cases against Prajwal Revanna who along with his driver Karthik is no longer in the country. A Blue Corner notice is also in place to apprehend the son of H D Revanna who himself is placed under judicial custody till May 14.

In a major twist to the entire case— the woman in the FIR alleged that Devaraje Gowda who apprised BJP of the sex videos involving Prajwal Revanna— has been harassing her for the past 10 months under the guise of helping her sell a property.

The woman also said that she came in contact with Gowda during the process involving the property that she wanted to sell. However, on the pretext of guiding her, the woman alleged that the whistleblower BJP leader physically assaulted and harassed her while Gowda also threatened the couple.

The woman has now sought police protection for herself and family. Further levelling allegations against Gowda in her plaint, she said that the politico had taken her to an isolated place where he assaulted her and threatened to kill the couple.

Former chief minister of Karnataka and Prajwal Revanna's uncle H D Kumaraswamy recently demanded a CBI probe in the Prajwal Revanna matter. However, Home Minister G Parameshwara turned down the demand for the investigation to be handed over to CBI.

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News Network
May 12,2024

Mangaluru, May 12: In a shocking development, a group of pilgrims which had travelled from Mangaluru International Airport to Saudi Arabia earlier this month, to perform Umrah has alleged that 26,432 Saudi Riyals, which were kept in a bag, have been stolen. 

In a complaint submitted to the Bajpe Police, Soukath Banu, wife of Ahmed Iqbal of Ajyad Tours and Travels, said that her husband, Ahmed Iqbal, along with 35 members, planned and scheduled to perform the Umrah and were travelling from Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) via Mumbai to Jeddah. 

Soukath Banu had given Ahmed Iqbal 2,000 Saudi Riyals for performing Umrah and other expenses. The group members were also told to bring Saudi Riyals to meet their expenses.

In her plaint, Soukath stated that the group had left for Jeddah on an IndiGo flight via Mumbai, and their return ticket to India was booked for May 13. 

At the airport, she said that 26,432 Saudi Riyals were collected in total, and they decided to keep them in baggage that had a lock. Accordingly, it was kept in the bag of Mohammad Badruddin Kadambar. The airport staff had even questioned what he had kept in the bag. 

The group reached Jeddah on May 1. To their surprise, Kadambar found that the baggage lock was broken open, the zip was damaged, and cash was stolen upon reaching Jeddah.

DCP (Law and Order) Sidharth Goyal said that following the complaint, one round of CCTV checks was conducted at the MIA along with the CISF personnel. The loading at the MIA was intact.

Further checks have to be carried out at Mumbai and Jeddah Airport as the victim found out that cash was missing only when they got the bag at the final destination, he added.

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News Network
May 12,2024

TVserial.jpg

In an intriguing turn of events, authorities have levied a fine against an actress for breaching traffic regulations depicted within a television serial.

In the 14th episode of the popular serial ‘Seetha Raama’ a Kannada language drama series airing on Zee Kannada, a scene featuring two individuals riding a scooter caught the attention of viewers. While the rider adhered to safety protocols by wearing a helmet, the actress on the pillion did not.

Jayaprakash Yekkur, a vigilant resident of Mangaluru, took swift notice of this discrepancy and promptly lodged a complaint with the Mangaluru City Police Commissioner. Yekkur underscored the concern that such portrayals of traffic violations by actors and actresses could potentially convey misleading messages to viewers, particularly those who are impressionable. He urged authorities to take decisive legal action against the actress, the serial’s director, and the broadcasting channel.

In response to Yekkur’s complaint, the Commissioner of Police forwarded the matter to the Mangaluru Traffic Police station. Subsequently, notices were issued to the owner of the two-wheeler featured in the scene and the serial’s director. Upon investigation, it was revealed that the scene had been filmed in Nandini Layout, Bengaluru, and was referred to the Rajajinagar police station for further scrutiny.

On May 10, after thorough inquiries, the Rajajinagar police station imposed a fine of Rs 500 on both the actress and the owner of the two-wheeler. Furthermore, the production manager of the serial committed to adhering strictly to traffic regulations in future episodes.

Expressing his contentment with the resolution, Jayaprakash Yekkur commented that the prompt response from the police, coupled with the imposition of a fine, serves as a valuable lesson and contributes significantly to enhancing public awareness.

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