Sam Pitroda

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Sam Pitroda
Sam Pitroda at the India Economic Summit 2009.jpg
Pitroda at the India Economic Summit 2009
Born (1942-11-16) 16 November 1942 (age 82) [1]
Titlagarh, Orissa Province, British India
(present–day Odisha, India )
Citizenship India
United States
Alma mater Maharaja Sayajirao University
Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago
Occupation(s)Telecom engineer, entrepreneur
Employer(s)Former advisor to the prime minister on Public Information, Infrastructure & Innovations (PIII)
Political party Indian National Congress
Spouse
Anjana Pitroda
​
(m. 1966)​
Website www.sampitroda.com

Satyanarayan Gangaram Pitroda, popularly known as Sam Pitroda (Born, November 16, 1942), is an Indian official, telecommunications engineer, and entrepreneur, recognized for his contribution to innovation in telecommunications in his country. He is considered one of the leading advocates and promoters of bridging the digital divide. [2] [3]

Contents

He was born in Titlagarh, in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, into a Gujarati family. He has served as an advisor to two Prime Ministers of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh and Rajiv Gandhi, during their tenures, as well as to the United Nations. [4] [5] Currently, he is the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress. [6]

Early life and career

In 1966, he began working for GTE in Chicago. [7] He is considered a pioneer of portable computing, as he invented the electronic diary in 1975. [8]

He holds a master's degree in Physics and Electronics from Maharaja Sayajirao University (India) and a Master's in Electrical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology (USA).

Government Advisor

Between 2005 and 2009, he chaired the National Knowledge Commission in India and served as an advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the area of Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations. Since 2010, he has been the chairman of the National Innovation Council. [9]

Return to India and later career

On a trip back to India in 1981, Pitroda was frustrated by how hard it was to call his family back in Chicago, and decided he could help modernize India's telecommunications system. [10] In 1984, Pitroda was invited to return to India by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. On his return, he started the Center for Development of Telematics C-DOT, an autonomous telecom R&D organization. He had previously become a naturalized US citizen but renounced his US citizenship to take Indian citizenship again to work in the Indian Government. [11]

In the 1990s Pitroda returned to Chicago to resume his business interests. In May 1995, he became the first chairman of WorldTel initiative of the International Telecommunication Union. [12]

In 1993, Pitroda helped establish (with Darshan Shankar) the Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Tradition and The University of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology near Bangalore in India. The foundation promotes Ayurveda, India's traditional medicinal knowledge. [13]

In October 2009, Pitroda was appointed as advisor to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations with the rank of Cabinet Minister. [14]

Pitroda founded the National Innovation Council in 2010. [15] In August 2010, Pitroda was appointed Chairman of the National Innovation Council. [16]

In 2010, Sam was also a founding member of Scientika, a Mexican non-profit, committed to spreading science and technology.

In 1992, his biography Sam Pitroda: A Biography was published. [17]

He has been living in Chicago, Illinois since 1964 with his wife but travels to India every two months. [11]

Awards

References

  1. ↑ "Timeline".
  2. ↑ "¿Quién es Sam Pitroda?" Magis. ITESO. Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara - Fecha de consulta: 20/02/2012
  3. ↑ "La UIT premia a personalidades internacionales" CNC Comisión Nacional de Comunicaciones (Argentina) - Fecha de consulta: 18/02/2012
  4. ↑ "The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda". msubaroda.ac.in. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "Digital Indians: The story so far". BBC News. 18 September 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  6. ↑ PTI (9 September 2024). "Rahul Gandhi is a strategist with deep thinking on any subject: Sam Pitroda". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  7. 1 2 "Sam Pitroda: Lifetime Achievement Award 2002". Dataquest . 27 December 2002. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  8. ↑ "Electronic Diary patent - CHM Revolution". Computerhistory.org. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  9. ↑ "México debe ser consciente de su mentalidad del siglo XIX: Sam Pitroda" CNN México - Fecha: 05/05/2011
  10. ↑ Emily Stone (26 November 2007). "Chicago's 'Mr. India'". Crain's Chicago Business . Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  11. 1 2 Mike Hughlett (8 July 2007). "'Telecom czar' focuses on his next big thing". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  12. ↑ "Interim Board of Directors Elects Mr. Sam Pitroda as Chairman". Press release. ITU. 15 May 1995. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  13. ↑ "About". Web site. The Institute of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  14. ↑ "Pitroda appointed adviser to PM". Deccan Herald. 7 October 2009. Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  15. ↑ "National Innovaiton Council". innovationcouncilarchive.nic.in. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  16. ↑ "Mr. Sam Pitroda, Chairman". Web site. National Innovation Council. Archived from the original on 20 October 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  17. ↑ Mayank Chhaya (June 1992). Sam Pitroda: A Biography. Konark Publishers. ISBN   8122002757.
  18. ↑ "WNYLE Prominent Leader". Organization web site. Archived from the original on 22 August 2008. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  19. ↑ "UIC to award honorary degree to Sam Pitroda". India Tribune. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  20. ↑ "Honorary Degrees 1966 - 2010". University of Illinois at Chicago . Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  21. ↑ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  22. ↑ "'Technology Driven Future' Theme of ASEI's Annual Convention".
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