Satyanarayan Gangaram Pitroda or Sam Pitroda is one name without which the history of Indian IT and telecom sector remains incomplete. For his efforts in taking the country to the global map, Pitroda was rightly named the father of India’s communication revolution.
In the 1980s, Pitroda laid the foundation for India’s telecommunications and technology industries. He was an adviser to the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, during which he led technology missions related to telecommunications, literacy, immunization, water, dairy production and oil seeds. Pitroda was the founder and the first chairman of India’s Telecom Commission, and played a key role in expanding digital telecommunication to every corner of the country, especially to the remote areas. In 2005, he became the chairman of the National Knowledge Commission, and served for four years.
In 2009, Pitroda was appointed the adviser to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on public information infrastructure and innovation. Currently, Pitroda chairs many NGOs including the Global Knowledge Initiative, Institute of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology, and the India Food-Banking Network.
He has won numerous awards, including Padma Bhushan in 2009, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration and Management Services in 2000, and World Telecommunication and Information Society Award. Pitroda is also a recipient of around 20 honorary PhDs.