If N R Narayana Murthy had simply led and built such an extraordinarily successful company as Infosys Technologies then that itself would have been enough to put his name in the history books.
For, not only has the firm been an exceptional wealth creator, it has helped transform brand India from being a symbol of poverty and disaster to one of technological prowess and innovation.
But Mr Murthy's contribution goes much further and that is why he is likely to remain a role model for some of the most capable and aspiring Indians for a long time to come. His vision has been not just to make Infosys a successful business, but also one of the most ethical, following the best global standards of governance and transparency.
This again does its bit to correct another long-standing Indian shortcoming - the low ethical score of its business. Mr Murthy's decision to step down from his position of executive authority as soon as he has turned sixty, even though he remains totally fit in mind and body, very simply underlines that he himself lives by the standards he has laid down.
What makes Mr Murthy's role a matter of continuing keen public interest is that he is not going to disappear from public life altogether and go into total retirement. He has always had a keen idea of what the country, not just his company, needs to do in order to better itself and has not hesitated to take a public stand on this.
He has spoken out on the issue of reservations in institutions of technical and higher learning, the quality of infrastructure in Bangalore and the emotive matter of teaching English to children at an early age. In all these, his forceful public intervention has not endeared him to sections of India's decision makers.
Most recently, his assertion that parents should have the choice to get their children learn English from as early as the first standard has brought forth a sharp rebuke from a Karnataka minister. But Mr Murthy is unlikely to give up and keep quiet henceforth as a result.
So, having ended his direct association with the company he helped build, he now appears to be ready to take up a more public role. This is good news for the country.
He has categorically stated that the country cannot consider itself economically successful so long as its poor remain deprived of minimum education and healthcare. While many mainstream politicians will be ready to mouth similar sentiments, Mr Murthy is likely to back this up with a far less conventional set of policy imperatives.
His credo has so far been in favour of letting entrepreneurship get ahead with the job of creating wealth while public policy pursues an effective strategy to so distribute the wealth that it reduces and ends deprivation.
How directly Mr Murthy will be willing to participate in policy-making is not known. His assumption of the leadership of TiE (the global association of technology players with roots in the subcontinent) indicates that he will remain an active business leader with a strong focus on technology and innovations.
But there is likelihood that in public discourse he will widen the set of perceived choices by arguing for both efficiency and equity. This should enrich India's public life and hopefully result in better policy.
