Celebrating the builders of modern India

As our country marks Engineer’s Day today, a look at its illustrious history and an ode to the genius behind it

Modern science has reached new heights, but it is engineering that brings the advancements in service of humanity. Whether it’s the early usage of the principle of incandescence employed in the light bulb, or the p-n junction effect, resulting in the development of semiconductors which power everything from smartphones to aeroplanes today, engineering and pure science are a marriage made in heaven.

India is known for its doctors and engineers across the globe but did you know that there is actually a special day dedicated to engineers in our country, to mark the birthday of one of the foremost engineers of our times, Sir M Visvesvaraya. Born on 15th September 1860 in what was then the Kingdom of Mysore, he pursued his engineering degree from the College of Engineering in Pune. He then went to become the chief engineer of the prestigious Krishna Sagar Dam and achieved celebrity status when he designed the flood defence system for Hyderabad, and also created what was at the time the largest reservoir in Asia.

More recently, India has produced engineering leaders like Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella, who have propelled the world into a new paradigm of cloud computing, where everything is within the palm of our hands, quite literally. Some of the Crown Jewels of Indian Industry are engineering enterprises like Tata Steel and Reliance Industries, which haven’t just contributed to our stock indices, but also created jobs and contributed in a big way to the industrial progress of our country.

Today, India produces 7 lac engineers per year, which is the highest tally in the world, some of the best and brightest talent which power everything from ISRO to Silicon Valley. As we march confidently towards a bright future, we stand on the shoulders of giants, the engineers who don’t just dream big, but also figure out a way to transform those bold dreams into reality. Our space program is a shining example of Indian ingenuity, and today in addition to being self-sufficient, India is one of the major players in the space race, launching satellites for a host of other countries.

Our journey towards becoming an industrial superpower has just started, and our engineers will have a huge role to play in it.