Faqir Chand Kohli, Indian IT industry Pioneer and TCS founding Chief Executive Passes AwayTop Stories

November 27, 2020 18:28
Faqir Chand Kohli, Indian IT industry Pioneer and TCS founding Chief Executive Passes Away

(Image source from: hindustantimes.com)

On Thursday, Faqir Chand Kohli, who was 96, passes away. His tremendous contribution to the IT industry will always be remembered.

He had built the USD 190-billion IT industry and was the founding chief executive of the sector's largest company TCS.

Later Kohli was a part of Tata as JRD Tata had insisted Kohli to join the infotech arm for a bulk of resources.

Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran termed Kohli as a "true legend" who laid the foundation of what has been a "spectacular IT revolution".

It was Kohli who set the stage for a dynamic modern economy that is enjoyed by us today.

"Kohli was the true pioneer of Indian IT. We have all followed in his footsteps. His contribution to the IT industry and thus to India is immeasurable," Wipro Chairman Azim Premji said in a statement.

As per TCS, the 1924-born Kohli was into management consultancy initially and later moved to software development. He was hired in 1951, fresh from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and then joined Tata Electric.

He was given the third-highest civilian award Padma Bhushan. Back then, he was rigorously working with TCE and he gradually stepped up the ladder as the company got better.

He became the general manager of TCS in 1969, director-in-charge in 1974 and then the chief executive, a position he held till 1996.

As per Chandrasekaran, Kohli helped our nation attain advancement through his optimism and ambitious goals.

His efforts in developing the IT industry in India has been incredible.

Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad called the Peshawar born and Lahore-educated Kohli as a visionary who made pioneering efforts to develop the IT industry in India.

Former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh called him as the "Bhishmapitamaha of the Indian software industry" and said it was always educative to converse with him.

Nasscom appreciates the fact that Kohli foresaw an opportunity in technology for India and built TCS.

Some of the best innovations made on adult literacy, water purification, software engineering, software automation, complex-systems and cybernetics was because of Kohli.

In one of the felicitations in January, Kohli said that TCS started in 1969  was forced to look overseas for clients because nobody knew computers locally. The journey to becoming a nation known for its prowess in systems has been a joy.

By Neha Makhija

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