NEW DELHI: Infosys founder and chairman N R Narayana Murthy , one of the most prominent business leaders in the country, said UPA-2 had failed to move ahead with reforms despite being in office for over two years and put a part of the blame on the dual leadership structure with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh heading the government while Sonia Gandhi controlled the party.

"You know, I mean, I understand that he (Singh) leads a coalition. I understand that we have two leaders in the whole set-up. There is a leader of the party (Sonia), there is a leader of the government. So, all these things do slow down the decision-making; but I think that's precisely why the reason that the prime minister must, in fact, take acute note of that and perhaps accelerate decisions," Murthy told a television channel.

The Infosys founder, who is due to step down, was highly critical of the slowdown in decision-making. In the past too, he had expressed concern over corruption but his remarks coincide with those made by the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, which is headed by C Rangarajan, a close aide of Singh. The panel of economists had blamed the government's preoccupation with corruption-related controversies for going slow on decision-making.

"Well, you know we have a culture of taking slow decisions, we have a culture of dithering. This is not just at Delhi, it happens in every state. It happens in corporations, it happens in educational institutions. Therefore, the need of the day is for all of us to realise that nothing is gained by dithering. Nothing is gained by postponing decisions. You have to take decisions quickly, no matter that they appear unpalatable in the short term," Murthy said.

Various corporate leaders have warned the government of policy paralysis, with the last such outburst taking place last week when finance minister Pranab Mukherjee met top industrialists of the country to allay fears over government inaction. But was not to be as the corporate captains made their displeasure public during the closed-door meeting in North Block.

Though Mukherjee has brushed aside suggestions of policy paralysis, saying it was perception, Murthy's comments are sure to put more negative scores on the government's report card.

"Well, if I look at the facts and data, then it is true that we haven't had, or you know, taken any decisions ever since this government came back to power in 2009. Which means it is already two years and about three months old. So, to that extent, I think we should all be concerned," Murthy said.

He also spoke out against corruption saying economists have argued that graft shaved off 0.5-1.5 percentage points from economic growth. By controlling inflation, India could have growth at double-digit rates, he said.

Besides, there was some advice for politicians too. Murthy, who decided against seeking a further extension in his term, said, "It's a good idea to have politicians retire at 60."

