CELEBRATING THE SPIRIT OF INDEPENDENCE DAY WITH TECHNOLOGY & DIGITAL INDIA

India is celebrating its 71st Independence Day. Over the last 70 years, the country reached to a higher peak in the tech giant industry. One of the most important among these is the technology industry. Today, India's IT industry is a big force competing with the rest of the world producing the best scientist and engineers. As India celebrates its 70 years of Independence this year, in today’s blog, we would bring you a series of stories to celebrate the spirit of Independence Day 2018. Also, we would look at some of the most important technological innovations over the years by Indians.

i-Diya

The i-Diya is a small, portable solar powered LED light and mobile charger. It was developed by an IIT B student. There are three variations available:

• Basic i-Diya: It is the smallest and most portable.
• Home i-Diya: A solar lamp that can illuminate a home.
• Charge i-Diya: It is the version with the mobile charger.

The device is sold by the company illumind solartek Pvt. Ltd. It was designed keeping in minds the needs of the rural population, that includes food stall owners, healthcare workers, and street-side hawkers.

Indian Apps

Let’s name some of them – Redbus, Swiggy, bigbasket, Just dial, BookmyShow, CouponDunia. India is one of the fastest growing markets for app developers. In the recent times, there are huge advances in the world of apps, with more than 100 million mobile data users in India. From being a fun element on a smartphone to being a useful and indispensable tool, most of the Indian apps have been working great in the global market. Starting right from ordering groceries, booking bus tickets, and even dating, Indian apps have nailed them all. The app economy of India is booming as young developers have found out that an app for everything is what it takes to reach out more customers.

SmartCane

We Indians know the conditions of Indian roads. There are various obstructions at street level, including uneven footpaths, potholes, wayward vegetation, hawkers and street dogs. A regular cane can help the visually challenged avoid these obstacles but there are still dangers. These include trucks, railway lines, overhanging wires, clothes hung out to dry, tree branches or particles and debris from construction sites. The SmartCane allows the visually challenged to detect these obstacles, providing faster and safer mobility. It is an electronic device with a high battery capacity that vibrates a cane in four different modes on detection of obstacles.

Mobiles That Gave Indians Freedom

India got its independence in 1947. But the country had to wait till 1995 to get freedom from wires. As our country’s economy grew, global handset players and telecom operators saw the great potential in India’s mobile growth. Here are a few iconic mobile phones that gave Indians the freedom from state-owned landlines and rapidly changed the way we communicated.

• Nokia 5110 
• Motorola StarTAC 
• Nokia 9000 Communicator 
• Reliance CDMA Handsets 
• Nokia 6600 
• Samsung Galaxy S 

Celebrating India’s Digital Diversity

We have come across the term Digital India. What is it exactly? Digital India is basically a campaign or a collaboration started by the Government of India. This is required to make sure that all government services are available to the citizens electronically by improved online infrastructures. This is done to make sure that millions achieve their goals. Seventy years ago millions across the country rejoiced as they heard the voice of Poornam Vishwanathan announcing the news of Indian Independence on All India Radio. 70 years later, a girl is staring at her computer screen watching online videos of the emotions of those millions who heard the news of their freedom through a radio. News of freedom over a radio and watching the videos on freedom on a computer - we have come a long way. 

Microwave Communication

The contribution of Jagdish Chandra Bose towards the development of wireless communication is known by all. His work helped a lot in the technological demonstration of microwave transmission in Calcutta. Bose's innovations include mercury coherer, a component of radio receivers. Mercury improved the performance and usability of radio receivers. He holds the first patent for a solid state diode that detects electromagnetic waves. The demonstration included ringing a remote bell, setting off a gunpowder explosion and sending the waves through the body of the Chairman, Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. 

Indian Tech Leaders Who Rule The World

Today, some of the biggest global technology companies are run by Indian CEOs. To name a few - Microsoft, Google, Nokia, Sandisk, NetApp, Cognizant and Infosys. As India celebrates its 70 years of Independence this year, we salute some of the biggest India-born leaders who took big roles in the global technology organizations and have proved their leadership capabilities in many different ways. Satya Nadella of Microsoft, Sundar Pichai of Google, Shantanu Narayen of Adobe and Vishal Sikka of Infosys, and many others.

Intel Pentium Chip

Vinod Dham developed the Intel Pentium chip along with his team. Dham started making chips which companies like Intel, AMD and Qualcomm uses . He started his career in 1971 by joining a Delhi based semiconductor company called Continental Devices. Dham’s idea for developing the chip was going to customers and software publishers and compiled a list of 147 features the companies wanted.

Fibre Optics

Narinder Singh Kapany established the term "Fibre Optics" in 1956. According to a fortune magazine feature in 2009, a high school teacher had told Kapany that light could only travel in a straight line. Kapany proved his teacher wrong by developing fibre optic cables. Kapany has written several papers and delivered lectures in universities around the world, on the theoretical aspects of fibre optic communication. 

Binary

Binary was conceptualized by Indian mathematician and Sanskrit grammaticist Pingala. The Chandahshastra was written between 500 and 0 BC. It contains the earliest known description of binary and Fibonacci sequence. Binary, forms the base of most modern computation. It is widely known as the language used by computers. It is a way to store and transmit information using two states, on or off, represented by the numbers 0 and 1.

Let us look at the biggest Tech milestone of Independent India:

1951: First Indian Institute of Technology set up at Kharagpur, West Bengal1954: Atomic Energy Establishment set up for nuclear energy research. Renamed Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.1958: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) formed1959: Tata Institute of Fundamental Research builds TIFR Automatic Computer, the first digital computer in India.1968: Tata Consultancy Services set up, offers punched card services1969: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) established1970: Department of Electronics established to promote growth of electronics and computing1974: First successful nuclear bomb tested at Pokhran, Rajasthan1983: Space Shuttle Challenger deploys INSAT-1B, kicking off Indian National Satellite System1986: Computerisation of Indian Railways seat reservation system by Indian programmers2008: ISRO launches Chandrayaan-1, India’s first lunar probe2013: Launch of India’s first interplanetary mission — Mangalyaan, or Mars Orbiter Mission2016: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) came to light.