Research is not a luxury, but a necessity: Infosys founder NRN Murthy

Narayana Murthy, Founder, Infosys

Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy, on November 13, called research a national necessity, not a luxury, and urged India to build a stronger, more supportive environment for scientists, scholars, and innovators.

He was speaking at an Infosys Science Foundation (ISF) event where the Infosys Prize 2025 laureates were announced across six categories.

Murthy said research represents the highest ideals of human inquiry because it demands curiosity, imagination, courage, discipline, and resilience.

Drawing on the words of thinkers from Marcus Aurelius, Vannevar Bush, and Richard Feynman, he described research as humanity’s noblest collective enterprise and the key to solving the world’s greatest challenges.

He reminded the audience that nations that invest deeply in basic research eventually lead in scientific progress, economic strength, and societal well-being.

Citing the historic exchange between President Franklin Roosevelt and Vannevar Bush during World War II, Murthy said the United States became a scientific superpower because it chose to place research at the heart of national development.

Quoting India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Murthy added that science alone can address poverty, hunger, superstition, and stagnation.

He urged India to cultivate an ecosystem that is aspirational, meritocratic, competitive, and intellectually vibrant so young researchers can thrive without being constrained by hierarchy or limited opportunities.

Murthy said the laureates exemplify the best of Indian scholarship and represent the hopes of a nation striving for progress.

Also, read: Indians are good at applying ideas generated elsewhere: Infosys founder Narayana Murthy

On May 15, the ISF reduced the upper age limit for Infosys Prize winners from 50 to 40 to better recognize early potential and encourage future achievement.

The not-for-profit organisation believes that early recognition inspires young scholars and strengthens India’s long-term research landscape.

Each Infosys Prize includes a gold medal, a citation, and a $100,000 (roughly Rs 83 lakh) purse.

The award aims to celebrate excellence in research and motivate the next generation of Indian scientists, thinkers, and innovators.

The Infosys Prize 2025 honoured six winners for outstanding contributions across diverse fields:

1. Nikhil Agarwal, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for pioneering work in market design and empirical analysis of allocation mechanisms.
2. Sushant Sachdeva, University of Toronto, for deep insights into mathematical optimization and breakthroughs in algorithmic theory.
3. Andrew Ollett, University of Chicago, for transformative scholarship on Prakrit languages and South Asian literary culture.
4. Anjana Badrinarayanan, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru, for pioneering research on genome maintenance, DNA repair and mitochondrial DNA damage responses.
5. Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, for original contributions linking Kleinian group dynamics with complex dynamics.
6. Karthish Manthiram, California Institute of Technology, for breakthroughs in sustainable electrochemical routes to essential chemicals, including ammonia synthesis.