Pained by his demise. Condolences to his family and many admirers: PM Modi (File)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the demise of TCS founder Faqir Chand Kohli, who died at the age of 96 on Thursday, and said he will be remembered his enormous contribution to the information technology industry.
"Shri FC Kohli Ji will be remembered for his pioneering contributions to the world of IT. He was at the forefront of institutionalising a culture of innovation and excellence in the tech industry. Pained by his demise. Condolences to his family and many admirers," the prime minister tweeted.
Kohli was the first CEO of TCS and pioneered the country's "Technology Revolution" which helped India build its USD 100 billion IT industry. In 2002 Kohli was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to the Indian software industry.
Born on March 19, 1924, in Peshwar, he did his BA and B.SC from the Government College for Men in Lahore under Punjab University. Later he went to Queen's University in Canada and completed B.Sc (Hons) in Electrical Engineering in 1948. He also did his MS in Mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1950.
Kohli returned to India in 1951 and joined Tata Electric Companies and rose to become its Director in 1970. During this tenure, he was responsible for the use of digital computers for power system design and control.
In September 1969, Kohli became the general manager of TCS. In 1994, he became deputy chairman of the company and the rest is history. In 1991 he actively worked to bring IBM to India as part of Tata-IBM.
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