Rajeev Chandrasekhar : Visionary Technocrat and Architect of India’s Digital Future

Rajeev Chandrasekhar is a successful technology entrepreneur who set up India’s largest green field project under severe headwinds of archaic Government regulations. His contributions have significantly shaped India’s technological and economic landscape. With a diverse and extensive portfolio that includes chip design, cellular technology, and strategic tech investments, Rajeev's career is marked by a commitment to innovation, national development, and public welfare.

Rajeev's journey began in the United States, where he earned a master’s degree in computer science from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He went on to work at Intel, where he was a key member of the team that designed the Intel Pentium microprocessor, a milestone in computing technology. Upon returning to India, Rajeev launched BPL Mobile in 1995, one of India’s first mobile cellular companies, laying the foundation for the country’s telecom revolution.

Under Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s leadership, BPL Mobile became India’s first and largest cellular network, setting new standards in the telecom sector. Guided by his vision and strategy, BPL Communications secured key cellular licenses in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, emerging as India’s largest cellular operator with nearly a million customers. Despite fierce competition from industry giants, Rajeev's strategic expertise ensured BPL’s success in securing these critical licenses, establishing the company as a market leader.

His entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to technological advancement have been recognized with numerous accolades, including an Honorary Doctorate from Visvesvaraya Technological University, Karnataka, in 2013. Rajeev's contributions extend beyond business; his work has focused on transforming India through governance and economic reforms, particularly in areas such as Digital India, Telecom and Technology Policies, Urban Governance in Bengaluru, and the welfare of veterans and the Armed Forces.

As a techpreneur-turned policy maker, Rajeev Chandrasekhar rightly sensed that the country’s future lies in the growth of the start-up ecosystem driven by AI, semiconductors and electronics research and made constant efforts to make India at the forefront of these domains. His constant strides resulted in the establishment of the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) as an ecosystem that encompasses manufacturing, packaging, innovation, design, skills and research on semiconductors.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar also played key role in making the government collaborating closely with startups, industries, and academia to establish a thriving IT hardware manufacturing ecosystem in India. Close to 40 applications -including major global and domestic IT champions submitted EoIs to expand their manufacturing & exports of IT hardware from India under the PLI 2.0 scheme.

As a technocrat and as a professional Rajeev Chandrasekhar has always been against technology companies creating business models by misusing and exploiting digital personal data of citizens.  The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act 2023, addressing three seemingly contradictory aspects that every legislation should achieve - protecting the citizens’ rights, creating a compliance-friendly regime for startups and the digital economy and define the clearly emergent situations under which the government has access to the personal data of citizens during law and order, national security and other emergent situations- was also passed in the Parliament , after a series of constant efforts made by Rajeev Chandrasekhar with the industry and the consumers of the digital platforms.

Realizing the fact that AI has no boundaries, Rajeev Chandrasekhar always stands for regulating AI so that it is only used for constructive purposes. He was also convinced that it is impossible for one country to regulate the internet and the harms on the internet caused by AI is almost always extra-jurisdictional. Rajeev Chandrasekhar took a firm stand that prompted India taking the lead in creating a global draft framework to regulate the harms of AI across jurisdictions, by mid-2024.

For causes he believes in and supports, Rajeev Chandrasekhar actively approached the courts to intervene on behalf of citizens as in the case of Section 66A of the IT Act, securing voting rights for members of the Armed Forces among other issues. He is widely recognized as the most informed technocrat on Digital India, Internet and Technology issues, Spectrum Allocation, Net Neutrality, Consumer rights in cyber space policies and other regulatory matters.

It was his relentless campaign and later a petition in the Supreme Court that led to Armed Forces personnel getting the right to vote in their place of posting in the 2014 General Elections and further electoral reforms to bring the facility of e-Postal Ballot to Armed Forces. After the Uri Terror attack in September 2016, he was the first MP in India to have challenged the MFN status granted to Pakistan and submitted a Private Member's Bill in the Rajya Sabha on 18 November 2016 titled: "The Declaration of Countries as Sponsor of Terrorism Bill, 2016".

In February 2016, Rajeev was felicitated by the General Officer Commanding-in- Chief, Western Command, Lt Gen KJ Singh, PVSM, AVSM (Bar) with the GOC-in- C Commendation Card at HQ Western Command, Chandigarh for his support and work for the Armed Forces, veterans, and their families.

Additionally, he has focused on and taken up a wide array of macro-economic and micro-economic issues that include restructuring of Public Sector Banks, creating Transparency in the management of Public Assets and repairing key sectors in the economy to revive growth amongst others. Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar's insight made him one of the first individuals to raise concerns regarding the ad hoc allocation of 2G licenses starting 2007 - which led to cancellation of 122 licenses by the Supreme Court of India in 2012.

About:

Rajeev Chandrasekhar is an Indian politician, entrepreneur, and technocrat who served three terms (18 years, from 2006 to 2024) as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha representing Karnataka under the BJP. From July 2021 to June 2024, he served as the Minister of State for Electronics & IT, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Jal Shakti in the Government of India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also served as the National Spokesperson of BJP and Vice-Chairman of the Kerala wing of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

As Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar played a key role that led to sweeping changes in the law making process that positioned India as a global hub for electronics manufacturing. A techpreneur-turned-policymaker, he recognized the importance of AI, semiconductors, and electronics research in shaping the country’s future and worked tirelessly to place India at the forefront of these domains. His constant strides led to the establishment of the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), an ecosystem that integrates manufacturing, innovation, design, skills, and research in semiconductors. He also played a crucial role in fostering collaboration between the government, startups, industries, and academia to build a thriving IT hardware manufacturing sector in India, resulting in nearly 40 applications from global and domestic IT leaders under the PLI 2.0 scheme to expand manufacturing and exports.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar has always been a strong advocate for protecting citizens' digital personal data and played a key role in passing the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act 2023. The Act effectively balances protecting citizens' rights, fostering a compliance-friendly regime for startups, and defining conditions under which the government can access personal data during national security or other emergencies.

Realizing the fact that AI has no boundaries, he always stands for regulating AI so that it is used only for constructive purpose. He took a firm stand that prompted India taking the lead in creating a global draft framework to regulate AI-related harms across jurisdictions by mid-2024.

Member of Parliament:

As a member of Parliament, Rajeev Chandrasekhar served as a member of key committees, including the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, Public Accounts Committee (PAC), and the Joint Committee on the Data Protection Bill, 2019, Consultative Committee on the Ministry of Electronics & IT, Ministry of Communications, and the Indian Council for World Affairs. He had also served as a member of the Parliament Standing Committee on Defence, Consultative Committee on Finance, the Central Advisory Committee for the National Cadet Corps, Co-chairman of District Development Coordination & Monitoring Committee, Bangalore Urban District. He served as member Rajya Sabha Select Committees for the GST and Real Estate Bills.

For causes he believes in and supports, Rajeev Chandrasekhar has, apart from raising them in Parliament, actively approached the courts to intervene on behalf of citizens as in the case of Section 66A of the IT Act, securing voting rights for members of the Armed Forces among other issues. He is widely recognized as the most informed and active MP on Digital India, Internet and Technology issues, Spectrum Allocation, Net Neutrality, Consumer rights in cyber space policies and other regulatory matters.

Rajeev’s relentless advocacy for the Armed Forces led to significant electoral reforms, enabling Armed Forces personnel to vote in their place of posting during the 2014 General Elections. He was also the first MP to challenge the MFN status granted to Pakistan post the Uri Terror attack in 2016, introducing a Private Member's Bill in the Rajya Sabha titled "The Declaration of Countries as Sponsors of Terrorism Bill, 2016."

In February 2016, Rajeev was felicitated by the General Officer Commanding-in- Chief, Western Command, Lt Gen KJ Singh, PVSM, AVSM (Bar) with the GOC-in- C Commendation Card at HQ Western Command, Chandigarh for his support and work for the Armed Forces, veterans, and their families.

In addition to his work in technology and defense, Rajeev Chandrasekhar has addressed various macro-economic and micro-economic issues, including restructuring Public Sector Banks, enhancing transparency in public asset management, and revitalizing key economic sectors. His early concerns about the ad hoc allocation of 2G licenses, raised as early as 2007, were validated by the Supreme Court of India's cancellation of 122 licenses in 2012.

Served as a member of key committees, including the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, Public Accounts Committee (PAC), and the Joint Committee on the Data Protection Bill, 2019, Consultative Committee on the Ministry of Electronics & IT, Ministry of Communications, and the Indian Council for World Affairs.

Also served as a member of the Parliament Standing Committee on Defence, Consultative Committee on Finance, the Central Advisory Committee for the National Cadet Corps, Co-chairman of District Development Coordination & Monitoring Committee, Bangalore Urban District. He served as member Rajya Sabha Select Committees for the GST and Real Estate Bills.

For causes he believes in and supports, apart from raising them in Parliament, actively approached the courts to intervene on behalf of citizens as in the case of Section 66A of the IT Act, securing voting rights for members of the Armed Forces among other issues. He is widely recognized as the most informed and active MP on Digital India, Internet and Technology issues, Spectrum Allocation, Net Neutrality, Consumer rights in cyber space policies and other regulatory matters.

Relentless advocacy for the Armed Forces led to significant electoral reforms, enabling Armed Forces personnel to vote in their place of posting during the 2014 General Elections. He was also the first MP to challenge the MFN status granted to Pakistan post the Uri Terror attack in 2016, introducing a Private Member's Bill in the Rajya Sabha titled "The Declaration of Countries as Sponsors of Terrorism Bill, 2016."

Has addressed various macro-economic and micro-economic issues, including restructuring Public Sector Banks, enhancing transparency in public asset management, and revitalizing key economic sectors. His early concerns about the ad hoc allocation of 2G licenses, raised as early as 2007, were validated by the Supreme Court of India's cancellation of 122 licenses in 2012.