Mr. Dewang Mehta

Born in Umreth, Gujarat, India, he was an alumnus of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Mehta Vidiyalaya, New Delhi of 1976 science batch. A Chartered Accountant by 1984, he engaged in an assortment of work , such as journalism, writing and politics. Another passion was computer graphics, and he learned about this emerging hi-tech segment at the Imperial College London, where he also had his first encounter with movie and ad film making. The turning point in his life came in 1991 when an old time friend and Information Technology industry veteran Harish Mehta offered him charge of Nasscom; an association dedicated to the needs of the fledgling Indian software industry. He accepted a part-time assignment with the organization that allowed him to pursue his other interests. He played an important role in lobbying the Government on behalf of the fledgling Indian software industry. His knowledge of the correct people to lobby, and his cooperative stance with IT-related departments such as the Department of Energy, the Department of Transportation, the VSNL and more recently, the Ministry of Information Technology, enabled him to gain concessions, while other industries struggled. Recognizing the potential of the software and services segment as a major foreign exchange earner, he launched the India Inc. crusade, where he personally presented the country?s software industry to the world. Today, the software sector has set before itself an enormous ambition of $50 billion worth of software exports by 2008. He played the role of the guru, to central and state governments, guiding them along the path towards IT-fication. He helped at least 19 state Governments draft their IT policies, and create the requisite infrastructure to aid the cause of software within their realms. Besides a dream for the software industry, he had a blueprint for the IT industry and how it could be used effectively to change the lives of India?s teeming millions. He wanted the benefits of IT to make its way down to the grass root levels and his favorite slogan, ?roti, kapada, makan, bijli and bandwidth? epitomized the needs of the emerging, 21st century Indian.