K. P. P. Nambiar | |
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Nambiar at his residence
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Born |
Kalliasseri, Kannur, Kerala, India |
April 15, 1929
Died | June 30, 2015 Bangalore, India |
(aged 86)
Occupation | Industrialist, technocrat |
Spouse(s) | Marjorie Agnes Nambiar Saroja Kamakshi Uma Devi Nambiar |
Children | Sarojini L. Nambiar Padman G. Nambiar Kiran P. Nambiar |
Parent(s) | P. P. Chindan Nambiar K. P. Madhavi Amma |
Relatives | Pran Kurup (nephew) |
Awards |
Padma Bhushan ELCINA Electronics Man of the Year Award Distinguished FIETE Vasvik Award National Design Award Science & Technology Award Republic Day Award Institution of Telecommunication Engineers Award London County Council Major Award |
Kunnath Puthiyaveettil Padmanabhan Nambiar MSc (Lond), DIC (Lond), FIEE (Lond), CEngg (Lond.), more popularly known as K.P.P. Nambiar (April 15, 1929 - June 30, 2015), was an Indian industrialist and technocrat, known for his work in the field of industrial development and technology. He was awarded Padma Bhushan by Government of India for his contributions to the field of technology in 2006.
Nambiar walked 8 km everyday to Taliparamba's Moothedeth High School. He graduated from Pachayyappa's College in Madras where he studied Physics. In 1951, he joined the Imperial College of Science & Technology, University of London for higher studies in Transistors and Semi-Conductors.
Nambiar started his career as a research scholar in semi-conductor technology at Imperial College from 1954 to 1957. After graduation, he worked for Texas Instruments, USA. In 1963 he returned to India, as a part of the Scientist pool scheme initiated by Late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to bring back talented Indians working abroad. He was a "Scientist Pool Officer" under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). He taught modern semiconductor electronics in the Electrical Engineering Department of the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi. Nambiar joined Philips India as Manager of Projects in 1964. In 1967, he joined Bharat Electronics Limited as Joint Head of the Piezo Electric Crystal Division in Bangalore, where he set up the first communication crystals factory in India during his brief stay there.
In 1967, while at Tata Electric Companies, he set up the first applied Electronic Research and Development Centre for industrial electronics in India. In late 1967, Nambiar was also the general manager of National Radio & Electronics Co. Ltd., (NELCO), the consumer electronics division on Tatas. He was instrumental in introducing a number of new products under NELCO banner such as speed control for AC and DC Motors, Static Inverters and Converters, Calculators, Electronic Clocks and Display Systems. Silicon transistor radios were introduced for the first time in the country in 1968 by NELCO during this period. In the early 70s, he received an invitation from Kerala Government to set up an electronics manufacturing firm in Kerala. Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KELTRON) was formed with K. P. P. Nambiar as its first chairman and managing director. He remained in that position till 1983 when he was made the Executive chairman till his retirement in 1985. In 1985, Indira Gandhi appointed Nambiar as the chairman and managing director of Indian Telephone Industries Limited, the largest Public Sector Company in Telecommunication. In 1986, K.P.P. Nambiar was appointed the Secretary, Department of Electronics of Government of India (now the Ministry of IT) by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. He retired from Government service in 1989. The Kerala Government, in 1989, appointed him as the Honorary Special Advisor. In this consultancy role, he drew up the blue print for Techno Park in Thiruvananthapuram. The Park was inaugurated on 31 March 1991.