United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the Global Education Centre-II (GEC-II) of Infosys here on Tuesday and described it as “a stunning reminder of what Indian talent, ingenuity, competence and hard work” could accomplish.
The GEC-II, located on the Infosys premises, has been constructed at a cost of Rs. 350 crore. It is the largest monolithic structure to be constructed in independent India with a built-up area of more than 10 lakh sq ft.
Speaking after the inauguration, Ms. Gandhi said Infosys had proved that Indian companies could not only be world class but also be ahead of it. She complimented its mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy and his team.
Enabling environment
Lauding the founders of Infosys for their scale of ambition and building the world’s largest training centre, Ms. Gandhi pointed out that the government too made a difference by providing an enabling environment for the growth of the information technology sector in the country.
In this context, she recalled the contribution of the former Prime Minister, the late Rajiv Gandhi, and said he laid the foundation for the revolution in information and communication technology.
“It is hard to remember when India was not wired to the world but it was Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who built temples of modern learning and this was followed by the vision of Rajiv Gandhi who realised the potential of communication and provided telephone connections to villages.”
Earlier, Mr. Murthy said that when Infosys was launched in 1981, the founders’ belief was that poverty could be eliminated from India only through the power of entrepreneurship. Infosys was a testimony to that.
Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah, Director of human resources at Infosys Mohandas Pai, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Kris Gopalakrishnan, MPs and local elected representatives were among those present.
