25 Defining Moments of Indian IT

1956



The Computer Arrives



The first digital computer comes to India estd. 1956, as the Indian

Statistical Institute in Kolkata installs a Hollerith Electronic Computer,

HEC-2M, brought from England. Initially, it handled a number of scientific

problems from all across the country, including trajectory analysis for

artillery cannons for the Defense. It was, in fact, the first computer brought

to Asia, outside of Japan.

1959



Small Steps



TIFRAC, Indias first indigenous computer developed at TIFR, was commissioned in
1959. It was used extensively between 1960-64 by TIFR, BARC and a number of

other government laboratories, educational institutions, and private

organizations.

1968



Tatas TCS


Tata group buys a mainframe IN 1968 for doing the data processing work for its
group companies and starts seeking external customers for time-sharing. The

division, called TCS, was headed by a reputed engineer PM Agarwala but upon his

death, a young power engineer, Fakir Chand Kohli, is made the GM.

1971



Formation of the Electronics Commission



Electronics Commission constituted in February 1971 in Bombay under the

Chairmanship of Prof MGK Menon.

1974



Birth of the Industry



TCS converts a Hospital Information System from Burroughs Medium Systems COBOL
to Burroughs Small Systems COBOL on an ICL 1903 for a US client. Indias

software export industry is born IN 1974.

1975



Budding Growth



CMC incorporated as Computer Maintenance Corporation in 1975 with Dr Roddam

Narsimhan as its first Chairman and Dr Prem Gupta as MD.

1976



History in the Making



The youngest head in DCM DPs history, Shiv Nadar, quits IN 1976 and with

six other friends starts Microcomp with a capital base of Rs 1.75 lakh. The

company is rechristened HCL and history is made.

1977



The Indigenous Center of Excellence

National Informatics Center (NIC) is set up in 1977 with UNDP assistance

having Dr N Seshagiri as director general.

1978



CastawayIBM Exits



IBM exits from India on June 1, 1978 as it could not agree with FERA

regulations.

1981



Rise of the Icon



NR Narayana Murthy, a software professional working with Patni Computer

Systems in Bombay, launches a data center called Infosys in a Pune garage with

six friends for Rs 10,000 in 1981.

1982



Dataquest is Launched



Indias first IT publication, Dataquest is launched by Pradeep Gupta in

December 1982.

1983



A Roadmap for Growth



Dy Governor of RBI appointed as the Chairman of the Rangarajan Committee, formed
in 1983 to advise the government on the computerization roadmap for nationalized

banks.

1984



Securing a Place



New Computer Policy announced on November 19, 1984, days after Rajiv Gandhi

assured power. For the first time, the IT industry is accorded a special

position. Among other things, import duties for peripherals were reduced,

foreign equity participation was allowed, import of computers was liberalized

and software got recognition as a separate industry.

1986



Bending the Rules



The First Software Policy announced on December 19, 1986; few key guidelines

included making the export commitment of software exporters more stringent,

defining software exports as body shopping, delicensing the domestic industry,

emphasis on training and opening up import of software.

1988



The Catalyst Nasscom Founded



Nasscom is formed in 1988, thanks to the efforts of Harish Mehta, Saurabh
Srivastava, Prakash Ahuja, and Shashi Bhatnagar, with the aim to become a

catalyst for the growth of a software-driven IT industry in the country.

1989



New Openings



Jack Welch meets Sam Pitroda and Jairam Ramesh in 1989 over a breakfast

meeting and the seeds of offshore outsourcing of software services to India were

sown.

1990



A Visionary takes Over



The UK-returned accountant-turned award winning documentary

film-maker-cum-graphic designer Dewang Mehta is hand picked by Harish Mehta and

appointed as Executive Director of Nasscom in 1990.

1994



Swept by the Outsourcing Wave



John McDonald, the comptroller at American Express, is convinced by Raman

Roy to open an operational center for Asia Pacific in India in 1994. The Indian

BPO industry is born.

1995



The Internet Revolution



VSNL launches Indias first full Internet service for public access in 1995, the
Gateway Internet Access Service (GIAS). It was available immediately from

Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai and subsequently Pune and Bangalore, while

users from other locations connected through the I-NET, an X.25 network accessed

through leased lines or at a concessional dial-up rate from almost anywhere.

1993



A Toast to Success



Infosys listed on BSE IN 1993 at Rs 145 per share compared to the IPO price of
Rs 95 per share.

1998



Formation of the Task Force



The National IT Task Force is formed by the Government of India in 1998. Its

108 recommendations are accepted in a record time.

1998



Realization of a Dream



Rajesh Jain sells off IndiaWorld to Satyam for Rs 500 cr in 1998; the Indian

dotcom dream begins.

1999



Another First



Infosys becomes the first Indian company to get listed in the NASDAQ in 1999.

2001



Change of Guard



Dewang Mehta passes away in 2001; Kiran Karnik takes over as Nasscom President.

2003



A Landmark Deal



Bharti signs landmark IT outsourcing deal with IBM in 2003.

2004



The Billion-Dollar Club



Indian software companies cross the billion dollar barrier in 2004. TCS

breaks the ceiling first, followed by Wipro and Infosys.

2007



Eka, the Super Computer



Computational Research Laboratories (CRL), a Tata subsidiary, developed

cluster platform of HP Servers dubbed as Eka. The 'Supercomputer' was ranked as

the World's fourth fastest computer (at a staggering 117.9 Teraflop or trillions

of calculations per second) in the Top 500 list released at an international

conference on high performance computing in Reno, Nevada. This is the first time

that India has broken into the top 100, let alone in the top Ten club.

Rajneesh De



rajneeshde@cybermedia.co.in