Section 34
Shiv Nadar
Started HCL in 1976 in a Delhi rooftop room and built one of India's largest IT companies. (HCL)
- life
- Born 1945
- era
- 1947 to 1991
- $13.4 billion
- HCLTech size · 2026
- 2,19,000
- HCLTech employees (about) · 2026
- $1.5 billion
- Invested through the Shiv Nadar Foundation · 2024
The story
Shiv Nadar studied electrical engineering and began his career as a management trainee at DCM in Delhi. There he met the colleagues with whom he later started HCL.
In 1976 they began in a Delhi barsati (rooftop room), which his university describes as 'akin to a garage startup'. They first sold calculators to raise money, then made some of India's first home-grown computers.
HCL later moved from hardware into software and IT services. HCLTech is now a $13.4 billion company with about 219,000 people. In July 2020 he handed the chairmanship of HCL Technologies to his daughter, Roshni Nadar Malhotra.
In 1994 he founded the Shiv Nadar Foundation, which runs schools and Shiv Nadar University (2011). By June 2024 he had invested US$1.5 billion through it. He received the Padma Bhushan in 2008.
Timeline
- 1976Starts HCL with former DCM colleagues in Delhi.
- 1994Sets up the Shiv Nadar Foundation.
- 2008Receives the Padma Bhushan.
- 2011Shiv Nadar University is founded.
- 2020Hands HCL Technologies' chairmanship to Roshni Nadar Malhotra.