IAS officer who helped turn India's software industry into global powerhouse
This article recounts the historical efforts of an IAS officer and Texas Instruments to establish India's first satellite communication link in 1985. It highlights the bureaucratic and logistical challenges, including transporting a satellite dish via bullock cart, that paved the way for India's software industry.
Why it matters
It provides historical context for India's rise as a global IT powerhouse, illustrating how early infrastructure experiments overcame significant regulatory and physical barriers.
"Fortune favours the bold." Few stories in India's technology history illustrate this better than the remarkable journey that transformed a country struggling with red tape into one of the world's largest software-exporting nations.Long before Bengaluru became India's Silicon Valley, software engineers faced a challenge that would seem almost unbelievable to today's students.In 1985, if an engineer in Bengaluru wrote code for an American client, there was no internet to transfer it instantly. The code had to be stored on magnetic tapes, packed into boxes, transported to an airport and flown thousands of kilometres to the United States. Developers often waited for weeks to discover whether their software worked.Everything changed because of one experiment.American technology giant Texas Instruments wanted to establish a direct communication link between its Bengaluru office at Sona Towers on Miller's Road and its headquarters in Dallas, Texas.The company needed a dedicated 64 kbps satellite connection.
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