Nagarajan Vittal

IT catalyst



N Vittal will always be remembered as the liberator of DoE. When Vittal took
over as secretary of DoE in 1990, Indian IT was yet to come in full bloom though

the vital signs were quite there. He was instrumental in reducting telecom

charges for satellite links, exemption from profit tax on software and services

exports, zero excise rates from software sold. These proved to be catalysts in

India becoming a software superpower. His DoE track record prompted his move to

DoT where he did not disappoint too with the National Telecom Policy '94. This

tireless crusader might have retired from public service as the Chief Vigilance

Commissioner, where he used IT to share up the establishment, but surely as a

social ombudsman he is long way retiring from public life.