Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday (Feb 13, 2009) appointed Narayana Murthy, Chairman of Infosys Technologies, as his international advisor on information technology. The appointment was made after inviting Murthy as chief guest to the ceremonial launch of '2009-Year of English and Information Technology' at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.

 

Narayana Murthy, who had earlier stepped down from the post of CEO of Infosys, continues to be its chief mentor and Chairman. Infosys is a world acclaimed global consulting and IT services company based in India.

 

President Rajapaksa, speaking at the event said Sri Lanka was "greatly inspired by the dramatic success of India" in the field of IT in recent years. He added further that "It is for this reason that we have turned to India in addition to other countries for technical support to strengthen our own endeavors. We are honored by the presence today of Narayana Murthy, the 'father of IT in India' and the chairman and mentor of the world famous Infosys".

 

The launch of '2009-Year of English and Information Technology' is seen as a major initiative of the Sri Lankan Government to meet the demands of the 21st century in skills and capacities, mainly at the rural sector.

 

The President said that Murty's address at the ceremony had given a wider perspective on empowering rural people with knowledge in IT. Rajapaksa also expressed confidence that his association with Sri Lanka's national initiative would continue in the future as well.