Science & Technology development in India
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Milestones
1951-2017
17 biggest tech milestones of Independent India, E T Bureau, Aug 16, 2017: GadgetsNow
India is celebrating its 71st Independence Day. Over the last 70 years, the country has made its mark globally in number of spheres. One of the most important among these is the technology industry. Today, India's IT industry is a force to reckon with. Here we look at key developments that have shaped the industry and country since India's Independence.
icon
1951: First Indian Institute of Technology set up at Kharagpur, West Bengal2 / 181951: First Indian Institute of Technology set up at Kharagpur, West Bengal
1954: Atomic Energy Establishment set up in Trombay for nuclear energy research. Renamed Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in 19673 / 181954: Atomic Energy Establishment set up in Trombay for nuclear energy research. Renamed Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in 1967
1958: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) formed4 / 181958: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) formed
1959: Limited duration television programming begins5 / 181959: Limited duration television programming begins
1959: Tata Institute of Fundamental Research builds TIFR Automatic Computer, the first digital computer in India.6 / 181959: Tata Institute of Fundamental Research builds TIFR Automatic Computer, the first digital computer in India.
1968: Tata Consultancy Services set up, offers punched card services7 / 181968: Tata Consultancy Services set up, offers punched card services
1969:Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) established8 / 181969:Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) established
1970: Department of Electronics established to promote growth of electronics and computing9 / 181970: Department of Electronics established to promote growth of electronics and computing
1974: First successful nuclear bomb tested at Pokhran, Rajasthan10 / 181974: First successful nuclear bomb tested at Pokhran, Rajasthan
1978: IBM exits India, opening up the sector to private sector companies like Wipro and HCL with the announcement of a minicomputer policy
1978: IBM exits India, opening up the sector to private sector companies like Wipro and HCL with the announcement of a minicomputer policy
1981: Infosys is set up with a clear focus on providing outsourced IT services12 / 181981: Infosys is set up with a clear focus on providing outsourced IT services
1983: Space Shuttle Challenger deploys INSAT-1B, kicking off Indian National Satellite System13 / 181983: Space Shuttle Challenger deploys INSAT-1B, kicking off Indian National Satellite System
1986:Computerisation of Indian Railways seat reservation system by Indian programmers14 / 181986:Computerisation of Indian Railways seat reservation system by Indian programmers
1991: Liberalisation results in abolition of import duty on computers used for software export; earnings made taxfree for 10 years. MNCs allowed to operate in India with 100% equity
2008: ISRO launches Chandrayaan-1, India’s first lunar probe16 / 182008: ISRO launches Chandrayaan-1, India’s first lunar probe
2013: Launch of India’s first interplanetary mission — Mangalyaan, or Mars Orbiter Mission17 / 182013: Launch of India’s first interplanetary mission — Mangalyaan, or Mars Orbiter Mission
2016: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) established by separating the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeITY) from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology18 / 182016: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) established by separating the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeITY) from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
B
August 17, 2022: The Times of India
Landmark MOMENTS
1973-74 FIRST OFFSHORE IT SERVICES DELIVERY CENTRE
In the first few years after its founding in 1968, TCS was doing some computerisation for banks. But, the government under Indira Gandhi, and even later under Morarji Desai and Charan Singh, were “not pro-computers,” TCS’s first CEO, the late FC Kohli, recollected in an interaction with the IT history portal Itihaasa. In 1973, when Kohli was elected as director on the board of IEEE, he started looking for software export opportunities. “It was that or we had to shut down,” he said. He zeroed in on Burroughs, which was then the No. 2 computer company in the world (IBM was No. 1). “I visited them quite a few times in 1973 and 1974. Tried to convince them that they should experiment getting software prepared somewhere else for themselves, subcontract it. Towards the end of 1974, they gave us a big job. That set off the export of software. ” This was the first instance of an offshore IT services delivery centre in India.
1984-85 FIRST MNC R&D CENTRE
Around 1984, Texas Instruments was clear Asia would become the largest consumer of semiconductors in the following 20 years. So, the company wanted to establish a great R&D centre in Asia, Srini Rajam, who joined TI in 1989 and went on to become TI India MD, said in an interaction with Itihaasa. Its R&D centres till then were in the US and Europe. Then chairman Mark Shepherd, and executive VP Mohan Rao, who was also in charge of advanced product development, looked at options like China, Philippines, India. And India was chosen. Within India, they looked at cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai. “Bangalore stood out in terms of the education environment, proximity to institutions like IISc, and also the ecosystem of R&D that was already in Bangalore through government R&D institutions and companies already there. Proved to be a great decision,” Rajam said.
1999 BOMBAY COMPUTER CLUB
The early days of the Bombay Computer Club saw the coming together of numerous technology enthusiasts to discuss, debate and mobilise support for technology. An unlikely and yet key participant was the actor Shammi Kapoor. He is in this picture with Harish Mehta, co-founder of Nasscom, Raj Saraf, chairman & MD of Zenith Computer, Dewang Mehta, then president of Nasscom, Shyamal Ghosh, then DoT secretary, B K Syngal, former chairman of VSNL, and Vijay Mukhi, computer trainer and author.
INFOSYS LISTS ON NASDAQ
Infosys in 1999 became the first Indian company to list on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange – a landmark moment for Indian IT that caught international attention. The company’s employee stock option plan was so large that it created hundreds of dollar millionaires and thousands of rupee millionaires. (Thanks to Harish Mehta, author and co-founder of Nasscom, for some of the pictures)
