Excom Presentation

Submitted To

MR. Sunny Gandhi

Submitted By

Arsh Koul

• Sam Pitroda is an inventor, entrepreneur and policymaker. Currently Advisor to the Prime Minister of India on Public Information Infrastructure & Innovations, he is also widely considered to have been responsible for India’s communications revolution.

• He has served as Chairman of the National Knowledge Commission (2005–2008), a high-level advisory body to the Prime Minister of India, set up to give policy recommendations for improving knowledge related institutions and infrastructure in the country.

Early life

• Born in Titlagarh, Orissa, India. His parents hailed from Gujarat and migrated to Orissa.

• He completed his schooling from Vallabh Vidyanagar in Gujarat and completed his Masters in Physics and Electronics from Maharaja Sayajirao University in Vadodara .

• After completing his Masters in Physics he went to the US and obtained a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago. In 2010, he received an Honorary degree from University of Illinois at Chicago

A widely traveled man, Mr. Pitroda is a much sought after speaker at top international events. Mr. Pitroda divides his time between Chicago and Delhi.

Throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s Sam Pitroda was involved in cutting edge technology research work in telecommunications and hand-held computing. He is widely regarded as one of the earliest pioneers of hand-held computing because of his invention of the Electronic Diary in 1975.

• In 1974, Sam Pitroda founded a company, Wescom Switching which was one of the first digital switching companies in the world. He developed a revolutionary new system called 580 DSS switch, which he spent nearly four years perfecting.

• In 1978, it was released to the world and it became an instant hit becoming one of the most successful systems in the market. Wescom was eventually acquired by Rockwell International, where Pitroda became the Vice President.

Return to India

• In 1984, Mr. Pitroda was invited to return to India by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. On his return, he started the Center for Development of Telematics C-DOT, an autonomous telecom R&D organization.

• In 1987, he became advisor to Mrs. Gandhi's successor, Rajiv Gandhi and was responsible for shaping India's foreign and domestic telecommunications policies.

In 1987 during his tenure as advisor to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi , Mr. Pitroda headed six technology missions related to telecommunications, water, literacy, immunization, dairy and oilseeds. He is also the founder and first chairman of India’s Telecom Commission

Mr. Pitroda has been responsible for shaping India’s foreign and domestic telecommunications policies. He is largely considered to be responsible for the telecommunication revolution in India and specifically, the ubiquitous, yellow-signed Public Call Offices (PCO) that quickly brought cheap and easy domestic and international public telephones all over the country.

In the 90’s Sam Pitroda returned to Chicago to manage his business interests. When the United Progressive Alliance government came to power following the 2004 General Elections, the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh invited him to head the National Knowledge Commission of India.

• In October 2009, Sam Pitroda was appointed as Advisor to PM of India (Dr. Manmohan Singh) on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations with the rank of Cabinet Minister.

• In August 2010, National Innovation Council

headed by Sam Pitroda, with special focus on micro, small and medium enterprises for 2010-20.

Awards

• International Telecommunication Union (ITU) conferred the World Telecommunication and Information Society Award to Mr. Sam Pitroda in Geneva on 17th May 2011. He is the first and only Indian to receive this prestigious award.

• Sambalpur University honored Mr. Pitroda with D.Sc. on its 23rd convocation on 14 July 2010.

• Mr. Pitroda received the Rajiv Gandhi "Global Indian" award in 2009.

• Mr. Pitroda was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2009 by the Government of India for his contribution to Science and Engineering.

• Mr. Pitroda was awarded the Skoch Challenger Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 for ushering in the telecom and IT revolution in India.

• Andhra University honored Mr. Pitroda with D.Sc in 2008

Mr. Pitroda was awarded the Dataquest IT Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.

Other contributions

• In 1993, Mr. Pitroda helped establish the Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Tradition near Bangalore in India. At present, he is a Governing Council Member. The aim of the foundation is to make full use of India's rich and diverse traditional medicinal knowledge. Pitroda also serves on the IIT International Board of Overseers.

• He has also served as an advisor to the United Nations

Felicitations

• He was also felicitated on 31 March 2009 by Akhila Bharatiya Viswakarma Mahasabha (ABVM) for service to the Viswakarma community, in the presence of Chief Minister of Delhi, Smt. Shiela Dixit, and President of ABVM, Chedilal Sharma.

• In 2008, Pitroda was elected as World Prominent Leader by the World Network of Young Leaders and Entrepreneurs WNYLE He is also due to attend and address the 2nd Indian Student Parliament which is a MIT School of Government initiative.