FC Kohli, pioneer of India’s IT sector & founder of TCS, passes away at 96
Faqir Chand Kohli, who was rightfully referred to as the 'father of the IT industry', breathed his last at his house after suffering a heart attack.
- India News
- 3 min read
The Indian IT industry on Thursday, November 26 lost one of its stalwarts—a doyen of the industry, Faqir Chand Kohli, who passed away at the age of 96. Kohli, who was rightfully referred to as the 'father of the IT industry', died after suffering a heart attack. Kohli founded Tata Consultancy Services, which went on to become India's largest software services company and second largest in terms of market capitalisation.
From Peshawar to MIT
Kohli, who was born on March 19, 1924, in Peshawar, Pakistan, completed his Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Science (BSc Honors) from the University of Punjab. He moved to Canada to study at Queen's University after he won a scholarship. He then worked at the Canadian General Electric Company before rolling in the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to do his MS in Electrical Engineering.
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Kohli moved to India in the early 1950s and joined the Tata Group, where he served on various positions subsequently becoming one of the board of directors in the company. While at Tata, Kohli helped set-up TCS in 1969 and lead the company as its first CEO before stepping down in 1996. He also served as the president and chairman of India's IT trade body association NASSCOM, where he helped shape India as the next global IT hub which turned out to be a masterstroke as the industry now values at $191 billion.
"Mr. Kohli was the visionary leader who foresaw the opportunity of India in technology services and built TCS many decades back when almost nothing existed in the tech sector in India. His leadership and passion over the decades played a key role in helping establish India as a trusted and quality partner for global corporations, evangelise the importance of technology adoption for India, push for greater research in academic institutions, bring awareness on the importance of local language and hardware industry in India. We salute his contribution to the industry and will continue to build on his vision for the industry," NASSCOM said in a statement on Thursday.
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Kohli has been bestowed with numerous awards for his pioneering work in the Indian IT industry, including the Padma Bhushan in 2002, which is India's third-highest civilian honour. He has also received honorary degrees from various universities, including IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, Shiv Nadar University, Queen's University, the University of Waterloo to name a few.