Satyanarayan Gangaram Pitroda, popularly known as Sam Pitroda (Born, November 16, 1942), is an Indian official, telecommunications engineer, and entrepreneur. He was born in Titlagarh, in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, into a Gujarati family. He served as an advisor to

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian statesman and pilot who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the Assassination of Indira Gandhi, assassination of his mother, then–prime ...

and

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was an Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician, and statesman, who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jaw ...

during their respective tenures as the

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

, as well as to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. He is the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress.

Early life and career

In 1966, he began working for

GTE GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation (1955–1982), was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System. The company operated from 1926, with roots tracing furth ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He is considered a pioneer of portable computing, as he invented the electronic diary in 1975. He holds a master's degree in Physics and Electronics from Maharaja Sayajirao University (India) and a Master's in Electrical Engineering from the

Illinois Institute of Technology The Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Illinois Tech and IIT, is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the m ...

(USA).

Government Advisor

Between 2005 and 2009, he chaired the National Knowledge Commission in India and served as an advisor to Prime Minister

in the area of Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations. Since 2010, he has been the chairman of the National Innovation Council.

Return to India and later career

On a trip back to India in 1981, Pitroda was frustrated by how hard it was to call his family back in Chicago, and decided he could help modernize India's telecommunications system. In 1984, Pitroda was invited to return to India by

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

. On his return, he started the Center for Development of Telematics C-DOT, an autonomous telecom R&D organization. He had previously become a naturalized US citizen but renounced his US citizenship to take Indian citizenship again to work in the Indian Government. In the 1990s Pitroda returned to Chicago to resume his business interests. In May 1995, he became the first chairman of WorldTel initiative of the

International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union (ITU)In the other common languages of the ITU: * * is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information ...

. In 1993, Pitroda helped establish (with Darshan Shankar) the Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Tradition and The University of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology near

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

in India. The foundation promotes

Ayurveda Ayurveda (; ) is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practised throughout India and Nepal, where as much as 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayur ...

, India's traditional medicinal knowledge. In October 2009, Pitroda was appointed as advisor to Indian Prime Minister

on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations with the rank of Cabinet Minister. In 1992, his biography ''Sam Pitroda: A Biography'' was published. The

Enforcement Directorate The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is a law enforcement and economic intelligence agency of the Government of India. Established on 1 May 1956, it is responsible for enforcing economic laws and combating financial crimes. The ED operates under th ...

, on 15 April 2025, filed a chargesheet against him over his alleged involvement in the

National Herald case The ''National Herald'' case is the ongoing case in a Delhi court filed by politician Subramanian Swamy against politicians Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, their companies and associated persons. As per the complaint filed in the court of the Me ...

Awards

* '' Dataquest'' gave Pitroda a lifetime achievement award in 2002. * In May 2010, the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...

college of medicine presented him an honorary degree. * The Government of India awarded him the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

in 2009 for his contribution to science and engineering.

References

External links

*
Sam Pitroda
Collected news and commentary at ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

''
Biography of Sam Pitroda
by Mayank Chaya {{DEFAULTSORT:Pitroda, Sam 1942 births Living people Businesspeople from Odisha People from Balangir district People from Vadodara Illinois Institute of Technology alumni Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in science & engineering Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda alumni Indian emigrants to the United States Naturalized citizens of the United States American people of Gujarati descent Former United States citizens Businesspeople from Chicago American emigrants to India Naturalised citizens of India Gujarati businesspeople Recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman 20th-century Indian businesspeople 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century Indian businesspeople