Government cites conflict of interest as IIIT-Dharwad chairperson Sudha Murthy also chairs Infosys CSR arm Infosys Foundation.
The NDA government has rejected a new proposal by the Karnataka government and Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murthy to make software giant Infosys the industry partner for Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Dharwad.
The decision is based on the advice of the law ministry which said such a partnership would lead to conflict of interest.
Murthy is chairperson of the board of governors of IIIT-Dharwad since November 2015 and has been, for a year now, trying to replace state-owned KEONICS with Infosys as the industry partner. IIIT-Dharwad is one of 18 IIITs run by the government with an industry partner under a public private partnership (PPP) model.
The human resource development ministry had “sought the opinion of the ministry of law on this proposal” and the latter rejected it last month, ThePrint has learnt.
“MHRD has intimated to IIIT-Dharwad on 22nd August 2017 that there appears to be strong probability of clash of interest in case chairperson belongs to or is affiliated to an entity of industry partner,” the HRD ministry said in response to queries from ThePrint.
The conflict of interest arises as Murthy also chairs Infosys Foundation, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of its parent, Infosys Ltd. The opinion of the law ministry was that if IIIT-Dharwad partners with Infosys when the chairperson of the institute and the CSR arm of Infosys are the same, there is ground for a possible clash of interest. This could also set a precedent the HRD ministry would rather avoid.
When reached for her comment, Sudha Murthy asked ThePrint to direct its queries to IIIT-Dharwad. Dr S. Basavarajappa, registrar of the IIIT, responded saying the institute did not have any information on the issue.
Murthy’s proposal for a partnership is seen as an attempt to use the expertise of Infosys to bring qualitative improvement in the institute. She had first proposed in 2016 that Infosys replace KEONICS as industry partner of the IIIT and that buildings it would construct or fund the construction of on campus be named after the company.
However, there were concerns about the proposal in the HRD ministry, which then had Smriti Irani as its minister, due to Murthy’s association with Infosys.
The proposal was revived again this year with the state government also pitching in with an argument that Infosys Foundation was distinct from its parent Infosys Ltd and hence there was no valid case for conflict of interest.
While the HRD ministry has now informed the institute of its inability to agree to the proposal, it also acknowledged Murthy’s good work at the institute.
“On the whole, the institution is functioning very well under the able guidance of the chairperson, and it is one of the best performing IIIT (PPP) institutions in the country,” the HRD ministry has said in its response to ThePrint.
Murthy has been seen as a pro-active chairperson at the IIIT, who has made a number of interventions. She made a strong pitch and convinced the HRD ministry to change the IIIT’s mentor institute from NIT-Surathkal to IIIT-Bangalore, which she chairs as well, to help better synergies.
There are 18 IIITs being run on PPP basis between the HRD ministry, state governments and an industry partner with a fund-sharing pattern of 50:35:15.
Disclosure: Infosys Co-Founder Mr N.R. Narayana Murthy is among eminent investors and shareholders in Printline Media Pvt Ltd., publisher of ThePrint.