Sam Pitroda
| Sam Pitroda | |
|---|---|
Headshot of Sam Pitroda by Shazia in 2014
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| Born |
4 May 1942 Titlagarh, Odisha, India |
| Residence | Chicago, USA |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Alma mater |
Maharaja Sayajirao University Illinois Institute of Technology |
| Occupation | Telecom engineer, inventor, entrepreneur |
| Employer | Former Advisor to the Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure & Innovations (PIII) |
| Known for | Communication Revolution |
| Website | www |
Satyanarayan Gangaram Pitroda popularly known as Sam Pitroda (born 4 May 1942) is a telecom engineer, inventor, entrepreneur and policymaker. He was born in Titilagarh, Odisha, India. In 1964, he traveled to Chicago to study electrical engineering.
After many years Pitroda visited India and could not make a phone call to his wife. So he returned to India and spent nearly a decade with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi as leader of an effort to build an Indian information industry. The task was to extend digital telecommunications to every corner of the country, including remote villages, like the one of his birth. Pitroda launched the Center for the Development of Telematics (C-DOT), and served as Advisor to the Prime Minister on Technology Missions related to water, literacy, immunization, oil seeds, telecom, and dairy. He is also the founding Chairman of India’s Telecom Commission.
Pitroda returned to India a second time in 2004 to focus on building knowledge institutions and infrastructure. Pitroda served as chairman of the National Knowledge Commission (2005–2009), a high-level advisory body to the Prime Minister of India, to give policy recommendations for improving knowledge related institutions and infrastructure in the country. During its term, the National Knowledge Commission submitted around 300 recommendations on 27 focus areas.
Pitroda also founded the National Innovation Council (2010), and served as the Advisor to the Prime Minister with rank of a cabinet minister on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovation, to help democratize information.
Pitroda founded and served as Chairman of C-SAM. The company maintains its headquarters in Chicago with offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Pune, Mumbai and Vadodara. Pitroda holds around 100 technology patents, has been involved in several start-ups and lectures extensively.
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