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Bangalore, Jun 9: As the government keeps harping on and on about reservation, Infosys Chairman N R Narayana Murthy said on Thursday that providing best of opportunities to the socially under-privileged was the only way to correct social imbalances.

Making a mention about his strong belief in providing opportunities, he said Infosys last year chose 65 candidates from the disadvantaged sections and put them under intensive training, and after they were subjected to recruitment tests, 35 of them qualified for jobs in the company's BPO arm 'Progeon'.

"This should be the approach," he said.

A similar exercise is being launched by Infosys on August 15, 2006 in association with Canara Bank and Indian Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore.

"Initiatives like these should become voluntary from the private sector to make people from the disadvantaged sections competitive and skilful," said Murthy, who has opposed the idea of providing quotas in education and jobs.

Reacting to Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Meira Kumar's statement that time is running out for the private sector to act on reservation voluntarily, he said he believed in providing opportunities.

"It is the only way forward and the long term solution," he told reporters in Bangalore, as he emphasised the need to build a strong foundation at the primary school level itself and improving the quality of education.