MUMBAI, India — Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy said on Thursday that India must view scientific research as a national necessity rather than a luxury and build a more supportive ecosystem for scholars, scientists, and innovators.
Speaking at an Infosys Science Foundation (ISF) event announcing the 2025 Infosys Prize laureates, Murthy said research represents the highest form of human inquiry because it requires imagination, curiosity, courage, discipline, and resilience. He pointed to the United States as an example of how sustained investment in basic research leads to global leadership in science, economic strength, and overall societal progress.
Murthy also referenced former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who believed that science was the key to overcoming poverty, hunger, superstition, and stagnation.
Calling for an aspirational and merit-based environment for young researchers, Murthy said India must create an ecosystem free from rigid hierarchy and limited opportunity — one that encourages intellectual vibrancy and ambition.
The ISF recently lowered its upper age limit for prize recipients from 50 to 40, a change put into effect on May 15. Each Infosys Prize includes a gold medal, a citation, and a purse of $100,000.
The 2025 prizes honored six researchers whose contributions spanned market design, empirical analysis of allocation mechanisms, mathematical optimization, breakthroughs in algorithmic theory, Prakrit studies, and genome maintenance and DNA repair.
Infosys also reported strong quarterly financial performance. Consolidated net profit for the second quarter of fiscal year 2026 rose to Rs 7,364 crore, a 13 percent increase year-over-year. The company had reported Rs 6,506 crore in profit during the same quarter in FY25. Profit also grew about 5 percent from the previous quarter’s Rs 6,921 crore. (Source: IANS)
