Sudha Murty: The first female engineer of TELCO, now helps people in need through Infosys Foundation

Sudha Murty is a well-known author, educationist and philanthropist who heads the Infosys Foundation as its chairperson. The better-half of Infosys co-founder, N R Narayana Murthy, Sudha was awarded with Padma Shri in 2006 for her social work initiatives.

The philanthropist started her professional career in computer science and engineering. Today, apart from heading the Infosys Foundation, she is also the member of the public health care initiatives of the Gates Foundation. She has participated in several rural development efforts, founded orphanages and supported the initiatives of enhancing Karnataka Government’s schools with library facilities and computers. Sudha has also established the Murty Classical Library of India at Harvard University.

I hail from a middle class educated family and now that God is kind to me by giving me enough money, I want to share it with others – Sudha Murty

The first female to be hired at India’s largest auto manufacturer TATA Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO), she completed her bachelors in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the B.V.B. College of Engineering and Technology (now known as KLE Technological University). She went on to pursue her masters in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Science.

Sudha Murty started Infosys Foundation in 1966 and since then has been its trustee. It supports programs in the areas of rural development, education, arts and culture, healthcare and destitute care in remote regions of the country. The foundation is solely funded by Infosys. No external donations are demanded or accepted.

Infosys Foundation has donated more than ₹ 50 crore to expand the capacity of hospitals across India. It has built rest houses at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) in Bangalore. Apart from donating medicines and medical equipment to hospitals, it regularly organises health camps in rural India.

Every philanthropist has a soft corner for one issue. For me, it is health, because my father was a doctor – Sudha Murty

The foundation has donated to various educational institutes in India, like the Chennai Mathematical Institute, and the Indian Institute of Science. More than ₹ 40 crore has been donated for rural development and livelihood projects such as awareness campaigns. The foundation also helps in road construction projects, improvement of drainage systems, electricity facilities, and more in rural India.

Underprivileged and talented young artists are promoted by the foundation, and destitute are enabled to earn a living and lead a dignified life.

Sudha Murty loves teaching when time permits. She has been a visiting professor at the PG Center of Bangalore University and Christ University. Her novels, non-fiction books, travelogues, technical books, and memoirs are widely read, and have been translated into all major Indian languages, generating knowledge and inspiration for future generations.