Sam Pitroda Born On: 4th May, 1942 Born In: Titlagarh, Orissa Career: Entrepreneur, Advisor to the

Prime Minister Satyanarayan Gangaram Pitroda is a famous Indian and a renowned inventor, entrep reneur and policymaker who currently serves as an advisor to the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Manmohan Singh. His work revolves around Public Information Infras tructure & Innovations. He is respected for being a technological intellect who is responsible for India's latest revolution in communications and the IT field. He plays a pivotal role in creating IT infra-structure thereby enhancing servic es to the common man. Sam Pitroda has extended his services to many areas of IT. He was appointed the Chairman of the National Knowledge Commission during the y ear 2005-2008, which is a high level advisory board to the Prime Minister of Ind ia. The Board works for improving knowledge related institutions as well as infr astructure in the country. Mr. Pitroda holds around 100 key technology patents, has been involved in several start-ups, and has given lectures extensively aroun d the world. He is a proven entrepreneur as well who had founded C-SAM, Inc. wit h its headquarters in Chicago. With his unparalleled technological and administr ation skills he redefined the role of technology in a developing country like In dia and also managed to deliver better services to the under privileged people o f the country. Early Life Sam Pitroda was born into a Gujarati family on 4th May, 1942 in Titlagarh, Oriss a. His parents, who migrated from Gujarat to Orissa were staunch followers of Ma hatma Gandhi, and deeply influenced by his philosophies. They sent Sam Pitroda a nd his brother to Gujarat to learn more about Gandhian philosophy. Sam Patroda d id his schooling in Vallabh Vidyanagar in Gujarat and finished a Master's degree in Physics and Electronics from Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara. He the n went to the United States of America to pursue a Masters in electrical enginee ring from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. He was religiously invo lved in technology research work during the 1960s and 1970s, stressing on teleco mmunication. Career Sam Pitroda founded a digital switching company called Wescom Switching in 1974 and that was one of the first in that category. He invented many revolutionary s ystems and electrical accessories and has many patents too his credit. His inven tion, the 580 DSS switch became a hit across the world in 1978. However, his com pany Wescom was later acquired by Rockwell International and Pitroda became its President. He developed a new computer theme card game called Compucards in 1983 , which functioned by making use of binary codes. He is a good orator and has be en invited to many international events. In 1984, the erstwhile Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi invited Mr. P etrodato the country. Thus, he started the Center for Development of Telematics C-DOT in India, which is an autonomous telecom R&D organization. He surrendered his US citizenship and acquired an Indian citizenship to work in the government and thus took the post of advisor to Mr. Rajiv Gandhi and contributed much to sh ape foreign and domestic telecommunications policies. Sam Pitroda headed six maj or technology missions in Rajiv Gandhi's term and also founded India's Telecom C ommission and served as its first Chairman. Though he returned to Chicago in 199 0s, Pitroda returned to India upon receiving a call from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2004 and thus became the head of the National Knowledge Commission of India. Sam Pitroda became the head of an expert committee of the railways in Jul y 2009. He was asked to take up the position of advisor to the Prime Minister Ma n Mohan Singh on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations in 2009 and w

as also given the rank of Cabinet Minister. He played an important role in the f ormation of the National Innovation Council, aimed for the development of micro, small and medium enterprises. This was a notable achievement of Sam Pitroda. Contributions Sam Pitroda has against his name many notable achievements in the field of telec ommunication as well as the technological sector of India. He established the Fo undation for Revitalisation of Local Health Tradition (FRLHT) near Bangalore in India in 1993. He played a pivotal role in changing the face of Indian telecommu nication and the information technology sector. As Chairman of the National Know ledge Commission, he guided the body and submitted around 300 recommendations ov er 27 focus areas. He has been appointed as an advisor to the UN as well. Legacy Introduction of microprocessors in the telephone took Sam Pitroda name to the pe aks of fame. He invented the Electronic Diary in the year 1975 and it is an exam ple of hand-held computing. He has 100 patents to his credit and thus has become the leading name in telecommunications and IT. His latest invention covers a ma jor spectrum of transactions, both financial and non-financial, and works by usi ng the cell-phone to advantage. Awards And Accolades International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 2011 D.Sc. from Sambalpur University, 2010. Rajiv Gandhi "Global Indian" award, 2009. Padma BhushanPuraskar, 2009 Skoch Challenger Lifetime Achievement Award,2009 D.Sc. from Andhra University, 2008 Dataquest IT Lifetime Achievement Award, 2002 Timeline 1947: Born at Titlagarh, Orissa. 1974: Founded Wescom Switching. 1978: Invented 580 DSS switches. 1983: Developed games called Compucards. 1984: Returned to India on receiving an invitation from Prime Minister Indira Ga ndhi. 2004: Returned to India on receiving a call from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. 2005: Appointed as Chairman of the National Knowledge Commission. 2009: Appointed as advisor to Indian Prime Minister.