Mumbai: Hemant Sonawala, one of the founders of India’s information technology (IT) industry and chairman of Hinditron Group, died on 30 May at the age of 78.
Sonawala was one of the founders of the domestic IT industry, having started Hinditron way back in 1966 and its computer division in 1971. He was also the founder of Digital Equipment India, which later became a part of HP India in 1988. Digital Equipment India was the first technology IPO in India.
According to a statement from his office issued on Monday, he died last Saturday (30 May). The statement, however, did not specify the reason for his death.
A visionary, Sonawala helped lay the foundations on which the industry grew and subsequently had a meteoric rise. He was associated with the Computer Society of India, the IEEE, Nasscom, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci).
The Hinditron Group is engaged in IT, scientific instrumentation and tele-communication services.
