This refers to the editorial, “Settling Infosys dispute” (February 14). Both the Tata Group (also in controversy) and Infosys have been known to be high on ethics and corporate governance. Perhaps this cannot be said anymore. Recent events have compelled us to somewhat revise the belief. In any case, India never had a great reputation as far as corporate governance goes, and companies like these were the exception. The heart of the problem in Infosys case is the hefty severance package given to a former employee. Now that founder NR Narayana Murthy has raised the matter, it is obvious that not only the shareholders but other people too will ask similar tough questions.
It's not that during Murthy's regime, there were no issues. But probably those were not big enough to dent the company's image. The management and the board must ensure more transparency and corporate governance. There must be clear guidelines with regard to severance packages from now on.