CEOs to get lessons in austerity from Pranab

New Delhi, Jul 13: The CEOs of India are set to get lessons in austerity from none other than the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

On receiving a suggestion against the 'ostentatious lifestyle' of the CEOs, Mr Mukherjee is expected to
invite some of the top industrialists for a meeting.

Tarun Das, President of Aspen Institute, India, and former chief mentor of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), told a leading newspaper that the vanity of the lifestyles of the CEOs was brought to the notice of the Finance Minister by comparing it with the fact that 37.2 per cent of the Indian population is still suffers below the poverty line.

"Narayana Murthy (Infosys Technologies Founder-Chairman NR Narayana Murthy) too agrees with me that corporate CEOs must refrain from making a show of their wealth. I think the FM will soon call a meeting," Mr Das is quoted as saying in The Indian Express.

In Sep 2009, when the country was reeling under the effects of drought and shortage of food, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had taken the government on an austerity drive. The ministers were all asked to travel economy class and to refrain from holding meeting and conferences in five-star hotels.

OneIndia News