India, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania celebrate Engineers Day on 15th September to mark the birth anniversary of Sri Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, who is regarded as a pioneer in the field of engineering in India. Sir M Visvesvaraya was born on this day in 1861. He was India’s first Civil engineer, Statesman, and the 19th Diwan of Mysore, serving from 1912 to 1918. He received India’s highest honor, the Bharat Ratna, in 1955. During the British rule in India, he was knighted as a Knight Commander of the British Indian Empire (KCIE) by King George V for his contributions to the public good.
As a Chief Engineer, he has contributed to many big and strategic projects in India some of which include Krishna Raja Sagara dam in the north-west suburb of Mysuru city, Laxmi Talav Dam near Kolhapur in south-west Maharashtra, a flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad.
Since sir M Visvesvaraya India has come a long way. Indian engineers are now leading some of the world’s biggest and most important firms. Indian Engineers’ contribution is very well acknowledged across the globe. They form a significant portion of the high-skill labor force in many developed countries.
Calling India, the birthplace of a fourth of the world’s Engineers, Dalip Tyagi, Head of Developer Relations at Polygon commented, “Engineers have been at the forefront of advancements in society. New inventions and discoveries made by engineers have impacted every industry, from mobility to healthcare and entertainment to climate change solutions. The scope of engineering continues to evolve alongside the growth of technologies such as blockchain. India is the birthplace of a fourth of the world’s engineers, making it an important country for technology companies seeking world-class talent. Global companies get to support the thriving ecosystem of Indian engineers by giving them the tools to discover, build, and create scalable solutions for the future.”
Sir Visvesvaraya never stopped contributing to the country’s development. He gave his technical advice for the location of the Mokama Bridge over Ganga in Bihar. At the time, he was over 90 years old.
The role of engineers in the advancement of society is paramount. Bijal Sanghavi, Chief Technology Officer, Netcore Cloud says, “The rapid technological developments that we have seen over the last few decades can largely be attributed to the creativity and innovation that engineers bring about. A lot of today’s engineering advancements, like the smartphone, UPI, and 5G are in the field of software and communication, which will form the basic building blocks of our lives of tomorrow. All of these are engineering feats, that our future generations will be built upon. As engineers, we must constantly strive to learn and understand these emerging technologies.”
During British rule, the Indian economy was shattered due to the British policy of exploiting Indian resources. Most of the Indian workforce was dependent on agriculture and was living with the bare minimum. After opting for voluntary retirement in 1908, Sir Visvesvaraya took a foreign tour to study industrialized nations and implement those systems in India for the upliftment of the masses through industrialization.
Modern needs are now more focused on sustainability. Highlighting Engineers’ contribution towards sustainability, Geetika Goel, Head of Technology, Hero Vired says, “Over the last few years, we witnessed how engineers have been working to create a better world for both present and future generations by putting data and sustainability at the forefront of innovation. Their creativity and relentless pursuit of excellence have led to bringing about marvelous technological advancements time and again.”
Technological advancement in Information Technology has opened a new avenue for engineers and students who want to be IT engineers in the future. Their skills are driving further growth in technology and helping in solving modern problems. “With a strong focus on innovation which includes several patents every year and new product incubations – led by some of the industry’s finest engineers and highly-skilled technical staff – has been dedicatedly helping Dell Technologies meet its goals of driving growth through technology. They have also helped us develop the best-in-class Customer Experience Centers that are designed to be solution-oriented, interactive, and collaborative, serving as a bridge between sales and engineering.”, commented Sudha KV, Vice President, Dell Technologies India.
“Engineering has always been a popular field of study in India. Good engineers are always in demand around the globe as they help provide solutions to current problems and develop future technologies. This is why every country invests heavily in infrastructure and programs to educate the engineers of tomorrow. Currently, we are in transition from a classical embedded world to a connected world. Hence, today it has become more paramount than ever for engineers and developers to hone their core technical skills and invest time in learning future technologies like AI, ML, and Quantum Computing. Never forget, thinking ahead is always worth it. Happy Engineers Day!”, added Vadiraj Krishnamurthy, CTO, VP, Bosch Global Software Technologies (BGSW).
