F. C. Kohli
First CEO of Tata Consultancy Services, father of India’s IT industry
- Lived
- 96 yrs
- 1924 – 2020
- Works listed
- 0
- Career highlights
- Honours
- 1
- Most recent 2002
- Profile views
- 1
- 0 followers
F. C. Kohli was the first chief executive of Tata Consultancy Services and is often called the father of the Indian IT industry. He built TCS into India’s leading software company and campaigned for computer literacy. He died in 2020.
Biography
Engineer
Kohli studied at Government College, Lahore, and at Queen’s University in Canada, and earned a master’s in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joined Tata Electric Companies in 1951, where he introduced computers to manage the power grid.
Building TCS
In 1969 he was asked to lead the newly formed Tata Consultancy Services. With few computers available in India and strict import controls, he took on contracts abroad and pioneered sending Indian programmers to work for foreign clients, laying the foundations of India’s IT services industry. He led TCS until 1996.
Industry leader
Kohli helped found the industry body NASSCOM and served as its president, pressing the government to ease rules on software exports. He encouraged links between industry and universities.
Literacy and legacy
In retirement he devised a computer-based functional literacy programme to teach adults to read in a few weeks. He received the Padma Bhushan in 2002 and died in Mumbai on 26 November 2020, aged 96.
Timeline
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1924
Born in Peshawar, North-West Frontier Province, British India (now Pakistan)
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1951
Joins Tata Electric Companies
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1969
Leads the new Tata Consultancy Services
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1996
Retires from TCS
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2002
Padma Bhushan
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2020
Dies in Mumbai
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2020
Died, aged 96
Awards and honours
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Padma Bhushan
2002
Did you know?
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1
He used computers to manage Bombay’s power grid in the 1960s.
-
2
He created a computer-based adult literacy programme.
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3
He worked into his nineties.
Connections
Related people
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J. R. D. Tata
Business · Aviator and chairman of the Tata Group for over fifty years
Chairman when TCS was founded
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Ratan Tata
Business · Chairman of Tata Sons (1991–2012) who made the Tata Group global
Tata Group leader
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N. R. Narayana Murthy
Technology · Founder of Infosys and pioneer of India’s IT services industry
Later IT industry pioneer
Frequently asked
Who is F. C. Kohli?
F. C. Kohli was the first chief executive of Tata Consultancy Services and is often called the father of the Indian IT industry. He built TCS into India’s leading software company and campaigned for computer literacy. He died in 2020.
When did F. C. Kohli die?
F. C. Kohli died on 26 November 2020 at the age of 96.
Where is F. C. Kohli from?
F. C. Kohli was born in Peshawar, North-West Frontier Province, British India (now Pakistan).
What is F. C. Kohli known for?
F. C. Kohli is best known for Building Tata Consultancy Services; pioneering India’s software services industry.
What awards has F. C. Kohli received?
Notable honours include Padma Bhushan (2002).
References
- F. C. Kohli — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
- F. C. Kohli — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
- F. C. Kohli — Hindi Wikipedia. Wikipedia (Hindi). Retrieved 27 October 2026.
- F. C. Kohli (Q5423843) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “F. C. Kohli”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
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About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 27 October 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“F. C. Kohli.” TrackFame, last updated 28 October 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/f-c-kohli
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