HomeInfosys is to India what Ford was to America in early 1920s, says Ramesh Damani

Infosys is to India what Ford was to America in early 1920s, says Ramesh Damani

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By Aastha Agnihotri  June 14, 2018, 11:50:47 AM IST (Updated)

Infosys is to India what Ford was to America in early 1920s, says Ramesh Damani
Infosys, once the bellwether of India's software industry, completed its 25 years of listing on Thursday
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The software maker, founded by NR Narayana Murthy and six engineers, made an initial public offer in February 1993 and its shares were listed on Indian stock exchanges on June 14, 1993.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Ramesh Damani, member of BSE, shared his perception of Infosys and how the IT major made a name for itself in the ever-changing world of software technology.

"I think once Infosys got listed, it created cult of investors but it created so much more. Because of Infosys, not only it did the tech people but Indians walked six inches taller because it is one of the extraordinary moments in corporate India," said Damani.

Established in 1981 in the western Indian city of Pune, Infosys' grew its capital base from $250 to $10.9 billion with a market capitalization of about $39 billion.

In last 35 years, Infosys has catalyzed some of the major changes that led to India's emergence as the global destination for software services talent. It also became the first IT company from India to be listed on NASDAQ.

“Infosys is what Ford was to America in early 1920’s or what Google and Apple have been," added Damani.

Such is the significance of Infosys that Damani connects the listing of the software major to one of major events in history: The collapse of the Berlin Wall that allowed all German citizens to visit West Germany and West Berlin.

"If you connect two events that happened in our lifetime – the fall of the Berlin Wall and for Dalal Street the listing of Infosys, you may not find much similarities but if you connect the two, one led to the other,” said Damani.
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