Quotes from Azim Premji

I think the most important reason for our success is that very early in our quest into globalisation, we invested in people - and we have done that consistently and particularly in the service business.

Certain product lines are more suited to be manufactured in proximity with the customer, while others are more suitable to be manufactured in India.

Talent is in short supply everywhere. At Wipro, we are training nonengineers to be engineers.

If people are not laughing at your goals, your goals are too small.

There are millions of children today who don't attend school. However, education is the only way to get ahead in this country.

A girl child who is even a little bit educated is more conscious of family planning, health care and, in turn, her children's own education.

Inflation is taking up the poverty line, and poverty is not just economic but defined by way of health and education.

Character is one factor that will guide all our actions and decisions. We invested in uncompromising integrity that helped us take difficult stands in some of the most difficult business situations.

The early years were more about learning than about acting. I had to carry on my father's work, which was a big challenge.

I can't have my employees sitting in traffic when they should be in the office. Spending two-and-half hours in the car is a huge waste of productive time.

The responsibility of philanthropy rests with us. The wealthier we are, the more powerful we get. We cannot put the entire onus on the government.

We understand how to build and manage businesses that involve technology, engineering, and people at a large scale on a global platform.

The job of nation building, the job of nation leadership in a difficult, complex coalition has worked.

Ecology and economy are becoming inextricably entwined, and the world is becoming more conscious of this fact.

Excellence endures and sustains. It goes beyond motivation into the realms of inspiration.

I strongly believe that those of us who are privileged to have wealth should contribute significantly to try and create a better world for the millions who are far less privileged.

I think that any wealth creates a sense of trusteeship... it is characteristic of the new generation which has created wealth to have some amount of responsibility for it.

With the attention I got on my wealth, I thought I would have become a source of resentment, but it is just the other way around - it just generates that much more ambition in many people.

If one has been blessed or have been fortunate enough to have got much more than normal wealth, it is but natural that one expects a certain fiduciary responsibility in terms of how that wealth is applied, used and leveraged for purposes of society.

I have never had the need or thrill for being wealthy.

The success of Wipro has made me a wealthy person.

The importance of this success of Wipro has become manifold more, because it's the success of Wipro that enables the possibility of making a difference to some of the most disadvantaged people in the world.

In any software work, you have IT consultancy competence required to build the systems.

My dad told me he wanted me to join in the business, but nothing was firm. He was quite young when he died, so we hadn't talked about it in depth.