Padma Awards-2017 : The Telecom Man

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Nation-building is a continuous process. It is the dominant intellectual minority that has the duty of fostering a unified and national consciousness

 N Nagaraja Rao

Most of us these days are governed by the Telecom revolution but very few of us know the man who was instrumental in liberalising the Telecom regime. Meet, Tripuraneni Hanuman Chowdary, a former Managing Director of BSNL, was the
man who initiated restructuring of Department  of Telecommunications (DOT). Chowdary founded the Centre
for Telecommunications Management and Studies in 1989, as a not-for-profit-society to wage the intellectual campaign for demonopolisation of and competition in Indian telecoms. He wrote the draft National Telecom Policy, in 1989. He also drafted the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Bill, which has become the basis for the final TRAI Act.
While talking to Organiser, he expressed his happiness to receive the prestigious award. Recalling his contribution he said, he got able support from the then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao on telecom draft policy and political will was all that mattered. He also headed a National Task force on IT Industry during the Vajpayee government.
Dr Chowdary is also the Chairman of Pragna Bharati an intellectual forum based at Hyderabad. He is called a one man Army to fight many a Hindu causes including decontrol of Hindu Temples and funding for building Churches by previous
governments. He said nation-building has to be a continuous, conscientious effort. Unfortunately in India, the idea of
common nationhood is being subverted with increasing ferocity with a vicious propaganda. We need to fight out these tendencies to walk on the path of eternal glory of the nation. 

Key Contribution : ?Liberalising the Telecom Regime in India and drafting of TRAI Bill   

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