Sam Pitroda, 75, is best known as the technology whiz who transformed India’s telecommunications industry to make connectivity widespread and affordable some three decades ago. Armed with a veritable carte blanche from Rajiv Gandhi, India’s prime minister in the mid- to late 1980s, he went on to lead technology-focused missions in water, dairy, literacy and immunization, among others.
Today, Pitroda is an evangelist for the global smart-city movement, a role he dons under his nonprofit think tank called The People for Global Transformation. The think tank, with offices in Boston, Paris and New Delhi, is advising mayors and implementing pilot projects in cities in the U.S., Europe, Latin America, India and the Middle East. It was one of the organizing partners of Cities for Life Paris 2016, a global summit on “inclusive, smart and resilient cities” held in Paris in November 2016.
