Sam Pitroda: Born crusader

Pitroda battled the conventional thought that questioned the need for telecom for impoverished people.

He ushered the telecom revolution in India. His vision and technology helped connect India and provide telephone access to a billion people. Ironically, Satyanarayan Gangaram Pitroda first used a telephone only after moving to the USA to study electrical engineering.

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Born in Orissa, he has been a crusader. He battled the conventional thought that questioned the need for telecom for impoverished people. After his Masters in Engineering from USA, he worked there for a few years and then returned to India and founded the Centre for Development of Telematics.

In 1987, he became the Chief Technology Advisor to the Prime Minister of India and was given the responsibility of spearheading several Technology Missions to enhance quality of life, basic amenities and connectivity in the rural sector.

In 1989, he was elected the first Chairman of India's Telecom Commission. He has been Chairman and founder of several high technology start-up companies in India, USA and Europe and is the advisor to the UN Secretary General.

Pitroda is recognised for addressing India's causes and concerns and his dedicated and inspirational services to the Diaspora through his manifold activities, particularly in the field of telecom and entrepreneurship.