Considered a visionary, Rajendra S Pawar was years ahead of his time in realising the importance of IT (information technology) education in India. He left a comfortable job at HCL Technologies to start NIIT in 1981. In the process he revolutionised the computer education market in India, thereby creating a completely new industry segment.

Rajendra S PawarAll along, Pawar has played the leadership role in nurturing NIIT and building a leading global talent development corporation. NIIT�s franchise model enabled it to unleash a wave of entrepreneurship across the globe, providing young people with the opportunity to create viable businesses centred on IT learning.

Again, when the software boom was taking place, Pawar took the plunge and forayed into the software and services market, creating NIIT Technologies in 2004, now a Rs 1,000-crore company.