Murthy, whose company was a pioneer of off-shore software outsourcing, grew the 20-billion-dollar company by market capitalisation from an investment of just 250 dollars -- a loan from his wife.

"Infosys is a shining example of all the good that came out of (market) liberalisation," Murthy told AFP last month at the anniversary of the company's founding.

"There are a few good entrepreneurs and for them to succeed they require an incentive. That is the Infosys lesson."

Daunted by red tape and archaic laws in the 1980s, Murthy had considered selling the company, but economic reforms in 1991 allowed Infosys to finally take off and become one of the great success stories of India's technology sector.

The government provided tax holidays, export subsidies and duty-free hardware imports in the initial stages of reforms for software export firms and many state governments today lure these companies with tax concessions.

Bangalore-based Infosys Technologies, India's second-largest software exporter, now has annual revenues of 2.1 billion dollars and employs 58,000 people in more than two dozen countries.