IT major Infosys Chairman and software icon N.R. Narayana Murthy has retired from the service of the company, which he had launched as a small firm in 1981.

Murthy's retirement is in line with Infosys's corporate governance policy. He would however continue as its non-executive Chairman from tomorrow.

Mr. Murthy launched Infosys with a handful of friends with each of them contributing Rs 10,000. From its humble beginning, the company under Mr. Murthy grew to be the second biggest software exporter in India with a present market capitalization of $21 billion. The annual income has grown to $2.15 billion with 98 per cent of its income coming from exports.