App chronicling history of Indian IT since 1950 launched

First of its kind:Infosys co-founders Kris Gopalakrishnan and N.R. Narayana Murthy with professor Mahabala at a function to launch the mobile application in Bengaluru on Sunday.— Photo: By Special Arrangement

Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan on Sunday launched a first of its kind digital app called ‘itihaasa’ that recounts the history of Indian IT since 1950.

The app which is available on the Android and iOS platform will provide a detailed view of the evolution Indian information technology, it’s growth and hurdles faced from the initial days to the present.

The application gives information from the installation of the country’s first modern computer in 1955 to crystal gazing on Indian IT in 2040.

Itihaasa will walk the audience through the story of the $140 billion industry using around 600 videos featuring 44 technology stalwarts including academicians and industry leaders.

Some of the eminent speakers who detail the story are F.C. Kohli, Prof. Rajaraman, Prof. Mahabala, N.R. Narayana Murthy, Azim Premji, S. Ramadorai, Subroto Bagchi, among others.

Commenting on the initiative, Mr. Gopalakrishnan said, “IT has been integral to the rise of modern industrial India. The Indian IT and BPM industry employs 3.5.million people, contributes 9.5 per cent of our GDP and has redefined the country’s perception globally.”

“I wanted to make the history of Indian IT available for the future generation,” he added.

The users can download the app for free on both phones and tablets.

The app which document the history also will be updated periodically.

The platform will explore and publish historical research on other topics in the future.

It offers 600 short videos, over 37 hours of footage, 350 archival photographs and articles.

The app enables easy browsing with 12,000 tags and users can personalise stories on six dimensions: time, people, organisation, policy, technical terms and place.

The process used for the project was through research and talking to various leaders.

“The initiative by Kris is a wonderful move to chronicle the Indian IT story. Somebody had to do it for the future and he has done it,” said Nandan Nilekani, co-founder, Infosys.

Mr. Gopalakrishnan is the patron of itihaasa and he was supported by Krishnan Narayanan and Dr. N Dayasindhu in the initiative.

It offers 600 short videos, over 37 hours of footage, 350 archival photographs