# Sam Pitroda

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.
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. Currently, he is the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress.

## Early life and career

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

## 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. 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.
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.
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.
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.
Pitroda founded the National Innovation Council in 2010. In August 2010, Pitroda was appointed Chairman of the National Innovation Council.
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.
He has been living in Chicago, Illinois since 1964 with his wife but travels to India every two months.

## Awards

* Dataquest gave Pitroda a lifetime achievement award in 2002.
* In 2008, Pitroda was elected as a world prominent leader by the World Network of Young Leaders and Entrepreneurs.
* In May 2010, the University of Illinois at Chicago college of medicine presented him an honorary degree.
* The Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan in 2009 for his contribution to science and engineering.
* He was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award in December 2016 for his contributions in the field of telecommunications technology & innovation by the American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin (ASEI)