Summary: (http://kamlashow.com/podcast/wp-content/uploads/220px-Sam_Pitroda_at_the_India_Economic_Summit_2009-150x150.jpg)1984 was a pivotal year in India's history from a technological perspective. It was in 1984 that C-Dot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-DOT) was founded, which in turn unleashed the Indian telecom revolution (http://www.cdot.com/about_us/berif_history.htm)and highlighted how technology can help bring change in India, especially rural India. C-Dot (http://www.cdot.com/) was also an incubator of sorts for new ideas and a new way of thinking for a whole generation of Indian engineers and technologists. Meet Sam Pitroda, the man responsible for helping found C-Dot. An innovator and entrepreneur, Mr. Pitorada is currently an Adviser to the Prime Minister of India on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations. He feels there are lot of things that need to be done right from building infrastructure to education to telecom for a nation of over 1 billion people as he explains in this interview. A mix of arrogance and ignorance helped started his telecom journey in India. In the 1980s Mr. Pitroda pitched his business case to Mrs. Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi. C-Dot was established in August 1984 just a month prior to Mrs. Gandhi's assassination. "We clicked," explains Mr. Pitroda when he first met Rajiv Gandhi. "He was the key driver. Without Rajiv Gandhi I would not be able to do what I did. He had the political will…He was a man in a hurry …He wanted to modernize India...He believed in technology… " Mr. Pitroda was also a man in a hurry and was keen on using technology to solve problems in India, especially in telecom. He explains, "Technology means problem solving….it's a tool that helps solve complex problems. Our goal was to take technology to people…C-Dot was set up as a by-pass to focus on rural communication, digitization etc." Growing up in Orissa he had no access to a telephone line since it was considered a luxury item in the India of 1950s and 1960s. He was 22 years old when he first used a telephone. In 1964 he travelled to Chicago, USA, where he studied and eventually settled down. What brought him back to India after 20 years? How did his journey in India start in the 1980s? Tune in to listen to Part-1 of our conversation with Mr. Pitroda. This interview was recorded in Silicon Valley in 2008, and was first published in Live Mint (http://www.livemint.com). Sam Pitroda's photo credit: Wikipedia
