FC Kohli, the man who led IT Revolution in India, passes away

By Asianet Newsable English | First Published Nov 26, 2020, 7:21 PM IST

FC Kohli was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2002 for spearheading the IT Revolution in India. He was often referred to as the 'Father of the Indian software industry'

Faqir Chand Kohli, often referred to as the 'Father of the Indian software industry' passed away. He was 96.

Kohli was the founder and first director of India's largest software exporter, Tata Consultancy Services and was credited as a visionary who always looked at the next frontier and put India on the global map for software services.

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CP Gurnani, CEO and MD of Tech Mahindra, termed Kohli's demise as 'sad day for Indian IT'.

"He was not just the 1st CEO of TCS but someone who laid the foundation of India's greatest growth story. Go in peace, Kohli Sir. You leave behind a great legacy #FCKohli," he tweeted.

FC Kohli was born in Peshawar in British India on March 19, 1924. He did his schooling in Peshawar and did his BA and BSc (Hons) at the Government College for Men from Punjab University, Lahore. He was a university gold medalist.

Kohli went to Queen's University in Canada and completed his BSc (Hons) in Electrical Engineering in 1948. He then worked for a year at the Canadian General Electric Company and subsequently did his MS in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1950.

Kohli returned to India in early August 1951, and joined Tata Electric Companies. In September 1969, he became the general manager of Tata Consultancy Services.

In 1974, he was made the director-in-charge and in 1994 deputy chairman of TCS. TCS was established in 1968 with its headquarters in Mumbai and F C Kohli was appointed as the first CEO. He was also president of NASSCOM for 1995–96.

Even after retiring, Kohli continued to work as a consultant with TCS. For spearheading the IT Revolution in India, Kohli was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2002.

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