HCL Foundation Story

From making computers in his garage to having a personal wealth of USD 5.6 billion

Shiv Nadar, Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer of HCL Technologies is the only Indian to establish computer systems industry in India. Born in 1946 in the Nadir community in Tamil Nadu, he completed his graduation in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore. He along with his existing board members started Micro comp to sell teledigital calculators under the brand name ‘Televista’. Fondly known as ‘Magus’ among his friends he transformed HCL, at a time when India had a total of 250 computers, into one of the top most firms creating computers and office equipments. Nadar founded HCL in 1976 with an initial investment of Rs 187,000. With a team of six members which passionately believed in the future of IT industry, Nadar started making computers in his garage and HCL came out with its first PC in 1982. From designing India's first PC at the same time as global IT peers in 1978; to working on the Boeing Dreamliner's Flight Management Systems now, HCL has stayed a true Pioneer of Modern Computing. It has global tie-ups with several leading Fortune 1000 firms. In 2009, Forbes Magazine featured him in its list of ‘48 Heroes of Philanthropy’ in the Asia Pacific region with personal wealth of USD 5.6 billion. In 2005 he received the ‘CNBC Business Excellence’ award from the Prime Minister of India. He was conferred the Padma Bhushan. Nadar at the age of 53 quietly continues to support many critical social causes through the Shiv Nadar Foundation that focuses on elevating the educational system of India. It has established the not-for-profit SSN College of Engineering in Chennai, which is today among the top ten private engineering colleges in India. Recently, it has opened Shiv Nadar University in Greater Noida to offer undergraduate, postgraduate and professional degrees across a number of disciplines. He is also building "VidyaGyan" public schools in Uttar Pradesh that will provide free, world class education to rural children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

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