This is the end of an era. Faqir Chand Kohli, renowned as the ‘father of India’s IT industry’ passed away on Thursday at the age of 96. Born on 19 March, 1924, Kohli was the first chief executive officer (CEO) of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Ltd, India’s largest IT services company. A recipient of the Padma Bhushan, Kohli is credited for pioneering the technology revolution in India. He was the one who laid the pillars of the country’s mammoth IT-ITeS services industry which is pegged at a whopping $191 billion today.

Nasscom in a tribute to Kohli stated “He was a 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”. As chairman of NASSCOM in 1994-95, Kohli led the industry and Nasscom to build global partnerships in key markets, showcase the opportunity for IT services from India and build a culture of collaboration in the industry members. “His leadership and passion over the decades played a key role in helping establish India as a trusted and quality partner for global corporations, evangelize 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. FC Kohli will always be remembered for his pioneering contributions to the sector and remarkable leadership at Nasscom,” said Nasscom.

Recalling FC Kohli’s leadership and guidance, N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons stated that he feels privileged for working with Mr. Kohli from the day he hired him as a trainee in TCS. “He was a true legend, who laid the very foundations for India’s spectacular IT revolution and set the stage for the dynamic modern economy we enjoy today. Mr. Kohli led innovations in areas far-ranging from adult literacy, water purification,

A recipient of the Padma Bhushan, Kohli is credited for pioneering the technology revolution in India

software engineering, software automation, complex-systems and cybernetics,” said Chandrasekaran.

“Mr. Kohli was a true visionary, showing amazing foresight in harnessing the rich engineering talent available in India to create an entire new industry that defied all odds and grew to be a global powerhouse,” said Rajesh Gopinathan, CEO & MD, TCS. “Over the nearly three decades that he led TCS, his sense of purpose, his clarity of vision, strength of character and unwavering belief in investing in people left an indelible stamp on the organization’s culture. Mr Kohli’s contributions to TCS, the Indian IT industry and to the nation, are immense and immeasurable,” stated Gopinathan.

Born and raised in Peshawar, Kohli graduated in Physics from Punjab University. With a government of India scholarship, in 1946, he left for Canada where he pursued a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Queen’s University in Kingston, followed by a Master’s in electrical engineering in 1951 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US. Kohli’s career with the Tata Group began when he joined Tata Electric (now Tata Power) in 1951. He helped set up the load despatching system to manage the system operations and went on to become director of Tata Electric Companies in 1970. After an illustrious career, Kohli retired from TCS in 1999 although he remained with them in a consulting capacity. For his pioneering work, he was honored with numerous national and international awards including the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honor, in 2002.

“A pioneer who saw the future and built the IT industry in India, has many admirers in the industry. We were fortunate to capture his thoughts on building the industry and TCS through itihaasa app. Will miss his thoughts and advice for the industry,” said Kris Gopalakrishnan, Co-Founder, Infosys Ltd.

“Sad day for Indian IT. He was not just the first CEO of TCS but someone who laid the foundation of India’s greatest growth story,” CP Gurnani, CEO, Tech Mahindra said in a tweet.