The IT Revolution in India

Book excerpt: Faqir Chand Kohli, of Tata Consultancy Services, is widely acknowledged as the man who pioneered India's IT revolution. Born in Pershawar he finished his early schooling in India. He completed his engineering from Queen's University, Canada and his Masters degree in Electical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. For three years, Mr Kohli worked in various electrical companies in Canada and the United States.Returning to India, he joined Tata Electric Companies, where he made significant contributions to the field of power engineering. In the same year, he established India's first load dispatch centre.Mr Kohli joined TCS in 1969. Under his stewardship, TCS has grown both in size and stature. He has consistently ensured that TCS remains India's leading IT company. A strong believer in the necessity of training, and research and devolpment for a software organisation, Mr kohli ensured that a substantial percentage of TCS revenue are committed to research and development, and training.This book of speeches and articles reflects his deep understanding of current trends and future directions. His vision enables him to perceive the future and its potential well in advance. Over a quarter of a century ago, Mr Kohli emphasised that properly harnessing and channelising India's huge potential reserves of intellectual capital would enable the country to emerge as a major knowledge-based superpower in this country.