Rangaswamy Narasimhan

Rangaswamy Narasimhan (April 17, 1926 – September 3, 2007) was an Indian computer and cognitive scientist, regarded by many as the father of computer science research in India. He led the team which developed the TIFRAC, the first Indian indigenous computer and was instrumental in the establishment of CMC Limited in 1975, a Government of India company, later bought by Tata Consultancy Services. He was a recipient of the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri from the Government of India in 1977.

Early life and education Dr. Narasimhan was a pioneer in the field of computer sciences in India and the principal architect of India’s first indigenous computer, TIFRAC. I would rate him as the scientific equivalent of the linguist-philosopher Dr. Noam Chomsky in this country for his work relating to language, linguistics and cognitive sciences, said M. G. K. Menon, on hearing about Narasimhan's death. then part of University of Madras in 1947 and moved to US to obtain his master's degree (MS) in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology. His next assignment at TIFR was the establishment of a software development centre and that is reported to have paved way for the founding of the National Center for Software Development and Computing Techniques (NCSDCT) under TIFR.

In August 1963, the Government of India set up an interdepartmental Electronics Committee under the chairmanship of Vikram Sarabhai for finding ways for self-sufficiency in the electronics industry sector and Narasimhan was made the chairman of one of the sub committees, entrusted with the responsibility to look into the possibilities of finding ways to reduce dependence on IBM and International Computers Limited. and Narasimhan was entrusted with the responsibility which resulted in the formation of Computer Maintenance Corporation, later day CMC Limited as a fully owned government company in 1977 with Narasimhan as its founder chairman. which is considered to have offered alternatives to the concepts of Noam Chomsky, The book is reported to have propounded a new understanding of early education of children. and Characterising Literacy: A Study of Western and Indian Literacy Experiences were published by Sage Publications. He was also associated with the publication of the book, The Dynamics of Technology: Creation and Diffusion of Skills and Knowledge as an editor and edited the 1993 special issue of Current Science featuring Artificial Intelligence. The National Academy of Sciences, India and the Computer Society of India He received the Homi J. Bhabha Award from the University Grants Commission in 1976 and the Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1977. The Om Prakash Bhasin Award was conferred on him in 1988 and Dataquest magazine selected him for their Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994.