Padma Shri for BVR Mohan Reddy, TH Chowdary

Hyderabad: BVR Mohan Reddy, founder and Executive Chairman at Cyient and former chairman, Nasscom, is among nine names from Telangana and AP announced for Padma awards for 2017. Reddy has been announced for Padmasri award in trade and industry category. Along with him, Dr Tripuraneni Hanuman Chowdary, who contributed the most to the telecom revolution and IT development, is also among the Telugu awardees. BVR Mohan Reddy spearheaded the IT revolution in Hyderabad.

On being awarded with the Padma Shri Award 2017, India's fourth highest civilian honor, BVR Mohan Reddy said: “I am honoured that the Government of India has recognized me for my contribution in creating Engineering R&D industry in the country. The award is also a recognition for a first generation entrepreneur for building a sustainable global technology company. It acknowledges the effort put towards building a Digitally Empowered Society. I would like to thank Government of India for conferring me with this coveted honour.”

Bodanapu Venkat Rama Mohan Reddy (popularly known as BVR Mohan Reddy) is a visionary leader, entrepreneur, innovator and above all a man with an impeccable public record and compassion. Reddy is founder and Executive Chairman of Cyient Limited. Mohan Reddy is a recognized thought leader in IT enabled engineering services industry globally (ITES), served this industry for more than four decades and hence rightly is among the founding fathers of ITES industry in India.

Cyient (formerly known as Infotech Enterprises) today, ranks among top 15 Indian IT services companies, with revenues totaling over Rs 3,500 crore ($550 million). Cyient has generated cumulative export revenue of $ 2 billion. Cyient employs approximately 14,000 engineers across 38 locations globally.

Reddy has pioneered engineering design outsourcing industry from India. His enterprise was one of the first few companies to start export of engineering R&D services from India, especially to aerospace industry. He laid foundation of ER&D services which contributes close to $20 billion in export from India and employs more than two lakh engineers.

Reddy created a globally recognized engineering brand from India and won many prestigious awards including Boeing Supplier of the year, Pratt & Whitney Supplier of the year, UTC supplier gold, thus creating 'Engineered in India' brand.

Founder of the Center for Telecommunications Management and Studies (CTMS), Dr T Hanuman Chowdary, popularly known as T H Chowdhary, currently serves as non-executive independent director at Softsol India Ltd. He was the founding CMD of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL), Advisor to TCS and IT advisor to the Government of Andhra Pradesh. He is Chairman of Pragna Bharthi of Andhra Pradesh.

Quoting from Bhagwat Gita, Chowdary said he believes in doing his duty without anticipating anything. “I am happy that the government had recognized my services The Home Ministry had told me in the morning over phone that they were giving me the Padma Sri award.”

He drafted the National Telecom Policy (NTP) as early as in 1989, and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Bill, which has become the basis for the final TRAI Act. He has been responsible for the birth of the telecom manufacturing industry in the private sector. And he is also considered as the spiritual father of all the private sector telecom companies in India.