India, March 19 -- While Dataquest announced the next set of ICT awards, it was interesting to note how much the government played a role, through the past awards. N Vittal was the legendary Secretary of the Department of Electronics. At a time when there were no IT ministries, he was the one-man show for getting everything done. He won the IT Person of the Year in 1993.

In 1992 the nation was rocked by the Harshad Mehta stock market scam. The National Stock Exchange was soon set up. Its then MD Dr RH Patil was a strong proponent of automation and paperless procedures. He salvaged the stock market and was Pathbreaker of the Year in 1997. The then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, who transformed IT in his state, was Pathbr...