25 People who shaped Indian IT

NR Narayana Murthy

The Humble Warrior




Infosys once most popular tagline, powered by intellect, driven by values is
an apt description of its co-founder, Narayana Murthy. NRN has practiced what he
has preached, no wonder Infosys has leaped to what it is todayone of the
worlds leading IT services companies. NRN has come a long way from starting
Infosys from a Pune garage with Rs 10,000 borrowed from his wife, and the rest
is history. Key milestones under NRNs leadership include events like the
companys 1991 legendary public debut; and in 1998 when it went on to become the
first Indian company to be listed on the Nasdaq. But, his biggest achievement
has been in bringing a certain degree of ethics and philanthropy. And, the
attitude to give and share is amply reflected in his company, and through the
Infosys Foundation.

Nagarajan Vittal

The Pathbreaker




N Vittal had the courage to dream big. He was the IT lobbyist within the
government to frame and drive the IT and telecom policies, which have played a
big role in India's flourishing IT industry and the ongoing telecom revolution.
He took over as Secretary of the DoE in 1990. The software industry will
remember him for the $400 mn challenge and for what he once claimed and
achieved"the Indian software export miracle". The DoE started breaking rules to
create a freer environment, dramatically changing the scenario. From there, he
moved to DoT. This tireless crusader might have retired from public service, but
as a social ombudsman, he is a long way from retiring.

Vijay Bhatkar

Power Play



Super computers are not the domain of super powers. This seemed to have
acted as the inspiration for Vijay Bhatkar, the man who sowed the seeds of
supercomputing in India. And, as C-DACs founder executive director, Bhatkar
played an instrumental role in building Indias first PARAM 10,000 super
computer in 1998. He also pioneered the GIST multilingual technology project at
C-DAC. Another achievement of Bhatkar was the creation of the Advanced Computing
Training School (ACTS) at C-DAC that acted as a catalyst in grooming skilled
software professionals. Bhatkar also played an instrumental role in the
Education to Home (ETH) mission; International Institute of Information
Technology (I2IT), PuneIndias largest postgraduate institute for advanced
education in IT; and the India International Multiversity.

Dewang Mehta

Leaving Footprints




Dewang Mehta has played a key role in putting the Indian IT sector on the world
map. As chief of Nasscom, his hard lobbying tactics paid off, making it one of
the most respected industry forums in the country. When he took over Nasscoms
stewardship in 1990, it had only seventy-two members, but when he passed away in
2001 it had more than 500. He deserves credit for building up to the events that
led to income tax exemption for software exporters and software reproduction
legislation, and excise and sales tax exemption from a number of state
governments. Mehtas contributions would always be remembered by the Indian
software services industry.

Azim Premji

Actions Speak volumes




Often dubbed as a reclusive by the media, Azim Premiji may be a man of few
words, but his actions speak volumes. Today, Premji is the fifth richest Indian
as per Forbes ranking, with a net worth of $14.8 bn. Premiji, who dropped out of
Stanford midway, has successfully built a multi-billion dollar IT services
company that has footprints across the globe. But its not merely for his
business acumen that he is renowned. What Premji will be remembered most for, is
his unceasing vision of Wipro as a technology-and IPR-driven company. For Premji,
it has indeed been a long and fruitful journey.

S Ramadorai

The Gentle Giant




In a career spanning three decades at TCS, S Ramadorai has been instrumental
in every success of TCS and the industry as well. He has played a major role in
many important thingsbe it the numerous quality initiatives, the offshoring
model, measurement models for people and processes, signing up of big-ticket
clients, or forging alliances with global technology majors and institutions. He
might not be the media's favorite poster boy, but in the echelons of Bombay
House, Ramadorai remains at the helm of the Tata Group. The Padma Bhushan in
2006 was the nation's fitting tribute to the IT industry's silent warrior.

N Seshagiri

The NIC MAN




As founder director general of NIC and secretary to the Indian government,
Seshagiris contribution to the India IT industry was immense. He founded NIC in
1975 and was its head till 2000. His key contributions were the
conceptualization and implementation of NICNET (the first VSAT Network outside
the US with over 1,200 VSATs) and ERNET. He is also instrumental in drafting the
first liberalized Computer Hardware Policy in 1984, and the first liberalized
Software Development, Export and Training Policy in 1986. Under his guidance,
computer centers were set up in every department of the government.

Ajit Balakrishnan

The Webmaster




While surfing the Internet at Oxford University, adman Ajit Balakrishnan was
truly amazed by the power of the World Wide Web. Though he was working with the
advertising agency Rediffusion DY&R he got hooked, and along with a group of
like-minded peers in a smoke-filled caf in Dadar, Mumbai in 1995 decided to
start a cyber venture called Rediff.com. He had dabbled with IT earlier, as a
director with PSI Data Systems. But Rediff.com, launched before dotcoms became
fashionable and one that survived the later bloodbath, would be the name that
history will remember him for. Rediff.com is the first Indian Web company to be
listed on the Nasdaq.

FC Kohli

The Grand Old Man




Widely considered as the father of the Indian software industry, Fakir Chand
Kohli has secured a place in the annals of Indian ITs history. Kohli started
off as an engineer with Tata Power Company and rose through the ranks to become
deputy general manager. It was then that he was offered the reigns of Tata's
fledgling IT company, TCS, in 1969. Over the next two decades and more, Kohli
shaped the destiny of TCS. He was the first to talk about Tandem, first to
import an IBM 3090, to maintain that mainframes are not dead, and to question
the openness of open systemseven before most of the world addressed these
concerns.

C Sivasankaran

The Maverick




Probably one of the biggest achievements of Sivasankaran was his
contribution in creating a desi PC brand, under the Siva brand name, in the
1980s and selling at Rs 33,000. But, a closer peek reveals that Siva had tried
his hands on everything-from IT, Internet to coffee shops. In all the businesses
he has done, he is known for his build it sell it approach. The telecom bug
bit him in the 90s when he launched Aircel and Dishnet DSL that became a
formidable force, with Dishnet DSL being the countrys first DSL ISP at that
time. His telecom journey has ended with the selling of Aircel to Telekom
Malaysia, and Dishnet to VSNL. Siva is keen on buying an ethanol plant in the
US.

Hemant Sonawala

Thinking Ahead




If he had not decided to come back to India in 1962, after his engineering
in the US and a stint with Boeing, the fifty years of Indian IT history today
might have assumed a different contour. In 1966, even when he set up Hinditron
focusing on instrumentation and electronic engineering, he realized the role
computers would play in the future. Not surprising, therefore, that Hinditron
tied up with Digital to bring minicomputers to India in the 70s, when it also
started the country's first commercial CAD data center. Following IBM's exit,
Digital was the first MNC to come to India via a Hinditron JV; subsequently in
the 80s, Hinditron started local manufacturing, thanks to three technology
transfer JVs with Digital, Tektronix, and Schiller AG. Also, as CSI president,
Sonawala designed the DOEACC accredited program curricula.

Chandrababu Naidu

Making IT Work

Chandrababu Naidu is a politician who redefined the IT landscape in Andhra
Pradesh. He brought in new investments and turned Hyderabad into a global hub
for IT. Sadly, Naidus focus on technology did not find favor with the rural
electorates. But he virtually defined the paradigm of e-Governance from a
practicing politician's perspective. Naidu was a visionary who set about
bringing to his state all the best that technology had to offer, even at the
risk of incurring backlash from petty politicians. Now most people yearn to see
Naidu in the driving seat again, and Andhra Pradesh back on the global IT map.

Shiv Nadar

Making his Mark




For a man educated in the Tamil medium, and one who saw a city for the first
time only when he was twenty-two, Shiv Nadar has indeed come a long way, today
heading the country's biggest IT conglomerate. He started Microcomp in 1976
(rechristened as HCL) with six friends, and with a capital base of Rs 1.75 lakh
borrowed from his PF. And this after relinquishing his job as head of DCM DPthe
youngest head in the company's history. When IBM quit India, Nadar moved quickly
to replace the vacated space and since then HCL has never looked back. The
admirable thing about Nadar has been that he never rested on his laurels. So,
even after HCL became India's number one hardware company, he ventured into
software services, training, networking, BPO, and even distribution.

KV Kamath

Bankable Bet

ICICI is one of the banks that redefined the banking space by using IT. Whether
it is online or mobile banking, ICICI has been the frontrunner. But, that level
of technology adoption comes from top management commitment, and thats what
becomes evident as one looks at Kamaths track record as the chief of the
countrys fastest-growing financial institution. Theres no parallel. A veteran
at ICICI, he transformed it into an agile organization, entered new segments in
the financial sector, and brought it up to global reckoning in terms of
competitiveness and vision. And, it was through technology that KVK brought
about a large part of this transformation. A strong proponent of the new
economy, Kamath pioneered the initiative to promote a tech company, a venture
fund, and a string of Internet companies.

Som Mittal

Man for All Seasons




Though a metallurgical engineer from IIT-Kanpur, IT turned out to be Som
Mittal's true calling. In Wipro Infotech, he established the peripherals
business which in five years grew to over Rs 100 crore. The peripherals
manufacturing factory he set up in technical collaboration with Seiko-Epson was
the first in the group to achieve ISO 9000 certification, and also the first
unit to be nominated for the Rajiv Gandhi Quality Award. He was instrumental in
turning around the fortunes of Digital in India till it was acquired by Compaq
and subsequently HP. Mittal has been recently appointed as president of Nasscom.

Nandan Nilekani

The Global Indian




One of the founders of Infosys, Nilekani has taken up several lead roles in
the company. Currently, he is co-chairman of the Board of Directors of Infosys,
the company he has built passionately along with Murthy and others. Nandan
Nilekani was listed among Time magazines 100 most influential people globally
in 2005. In January 2006, he became one of the youngest entrepreneurs to join
twenty global leaders on the prestigious World Economic Forum (WEF) Foundation
Board. For Infosys, Narayana Murthy is the conscience and Nilekani the one who
epitomizes professional excellence and execution zeal. Not only has Nilekani
proved to be the ideal ambassador to carry forward Murthys legacy, he has also
played a key role in shaping the Indian IT industry.

Srinivasan Ramani

Networking India




A networking pioneer, Ramani helped create the countrys first emailthe
service was developed to demonstrate Indias capabilities in data networking.
Srinivasan Ramani and his fellow scientists pioneered the Internet age in India
through the Erneta network connecting education and research institutionsand
conducted early experiments in satellite communications. Currently, Ramani is a
professor at IIIT-Bangalore. In the past, he was first director of the National
Center for Software Technology, Mumbai, and was instrumental in setting up the
HP labs in India. He has also served as president of the International Council
for Computer Communication, and of the CSI.

Rajiv Gandhi

The Visionary




Rajiv Gandhis political life was short, but it had great impact on Indias
scientific outlook. From 1984-89, Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India,
a young and zealous man who assumed premiership not in the best of times. He
will be best remembered for his vision of a modern India, a computerized India.
His singular biggest achievement is the New Computer Policy, 1984, announced
within 19 days of his assuming power. This new regime liberated the shackled
potential of Indian IT, and we are still reaping its fruits. Gandhi also
believed in the power of R&D as he set up various technology missions and played
a role in setting up C-DAC, that gave India its first indigenous supercomputer.

Harish Mehta

Software Pioneer




It would not be an exaggeration to claim that Harish Mehta helped shape the
destiny of the Indian software industry in more ways than one. Along with
Saurabh Srivastava, Prakash Ahuja, and Shashi Bhatnagar, he was one of the
founder members of Nasscom in 1987. But even more significantly, he handpicked
Dewang Mehta after a chance meeting in the corridors of Delhi's Taj Palace
Hotel, and placed him at the helm of Nasscom. The rest as they say is a $18 bn
history (India's software export figures in 2006). One of the early IT
entrepreneurs in the country, Mehta headed the JV when Hinditron brought in
Digital during the 80s, the first MNC IT firm to arrive in India, post-IBM's
exit. Subsequently, he started Onward Technologies that formed a JV with Novell
to market its products in India.

Raman Roy

Seeding the BPO




When in 1993 Raman Roy convinced John McDonald, the comptroller at American
Express, to open an operational center for Asia Pacific in India, little could
he have imagined the juggernaut he was setting in motion. The seeds of the
Indian BPO industry were sown, and henceforth Roy would be known to posterity as
the father of Indian BPO. The sobriquet, however, stuck to him mainly because of
what he did after setting up the Amex center. First it was setting up GEs
captive unit and then going on to found one of the most profitable BPOs of all
time, Spectramind (subsequently acquired by Wipro). Roy quit Wipro last year and
now manages a private equity fund and a KPO venture, Quattro. Roy might not be
driving the BPO juggernaut anymore, but he is sure not to leave the navigators
seat soon.