Government is headless, says Azim Premji

Information technology leader Azim Premji of Wipro Ltd on Monday said the union government was leaderless, and the political situation at the centre would continue to drag down the economy.

Addressing analysts, the Wipro chairman said, ''We are working without a leader as a country. If we do not change, we would be down for years.'' (See: Government a mere spectator, not a driver: Murthy)

Premji has in the recent past criticised India's governance.

In October he wrote an open letter to the government over the lack of governance. His latest comments come amid a mere 0.1 per cent growth in manufacturing for April reported on Monday, and a warning from rating agency Standard & Poor's that it would lower India's rating to junk grade if issues of governance and economic reforms are not addressed soon.

Premji warned that the ''complete absence of decision-making among leaders in the government'' might cost the country dear.

Information technology doyen N R Narayana Murthy, chairman emeritus of Infosys Technologies, also made similar comments about the lack of governance separately on Monday.

At the analysts' meet, Wipro, India's third-largest software services exporter, maintained its ''cautious'' outlook on the current macro environment, and indicated slow demand in its banking and financial services vertical.