Satyanarayan Pitroda

"The father of India's communication revolution", Satyanarayan Gangaram Pitroda, or Dr Sam Pitroda as he is better known, was born in Titlagarh, Orissa in 1942. Dr. Pitroda is presently the chairman of India's National Knowledge Commission, besides being the Chairman and CEO of World-Tel Limited and the founder and CEO of C-SAM, Inc. He also worked as an advisor to the United Nations in 1992.

His parents had migrated to Orissa from Gujarat. They were deeply influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and his philosophy. Sam completed his Masters in Physics and Electronics from Maharaja Sayajirao University in Vadodara, following which he went to the United States to do a Masters in Electrical Engineering. He has many technology patents to his name and was involved in research work on telecommunications and handheld computing. He introduced microprocessors in telephone switches leading to digital switching and invented the Electronic Diary in 1975.

He designed his own computer-themed card game called Compucards in 1983. He returned to India in 1984 on the advice of the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi and founded the Center for Development of Telematics (C-DOT). In 1987, he became advisor to the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and was responsible for revolutionizing India's foreign and domestic telecommunications policies. He is widely known as the brain behind the introduction of the Public Call Offices (PCO) across the length and breadth of the country.

He left the country once again after a spat with K.P. Unnikrishnan, the Minister for Telecommunication in the V.P. Singh government. The present UPA government at the Centre constituted the National Knowledge Commission, of which Mr.Pitroda is the Chairman.

Awards

• Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration and Management Services, 2000, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to telecommunication and harnessing it for social and economic transformation of developing countries
• Dataquest gave Pitroda a lifetime achievement award in 2002.
• In 2008, Pitroda was elected as a world prominent leader by the World Network of Young Leaders and Entrepreneurs.
• International Telecommunication Union (ITU) conferred the World Telecommunication and Information Society Award to Pitroda in Geneva on 17 May 2011. He was awarded in recognition of his dedication to promoting Information, communication and technology as a means of providing a better life for humanity and social and economic empowerment. He was the first Indian to receive this award.
• In May 2010, the University of Illinois at Chicago college of medicine presented him an honorary degree.
• Sambalpur University honored Pitroda with D.Sc. on its 23rd convocation on 14 July 2010.
• The Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan in 2009 for his contribution to Science and Engineering.
• The Skoch Challenger Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 for ushering in the telecom and IT revolution in India.
• Andhra University honored Pitroda with D.Sc in 2008.
• Award for Public Service in the Field of Telecommunications, IEEE Communications Society, 2007, for exceptional contributions in developing indigenous systems and telecommunications infrastructure in India
• He was 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.
• World Telecommunication and Information Society Award, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 2011, for his outstanding contribution to improving life in rural communities through information and communication technologies. Sam Pitroda is the first Indian to receive this prestigious award
• He addressed the 2nd Indian Student Parliament in 2012.