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HCL HP becomes HCL Infosystems, National IT Task Force formed, the Indian dotcom boom and bust, VC concept gains currency, Infosys lists in NASDAQ, Premji becomes world's richest Indian, 100% FDI for the industry, Dewang Mehta passes away and Kiran Karnik takes over as Nasscom president, Nandan Nilekani takes over as Infosys CEO, Indian software companies cross the billion dollar barrier

1996: Rediff.com is launched by Ajit Balakrishnan and friends; it goes on to become India's premier dotcom.

1997: HCL and HP part ways with HCL buying out HP's 26% stake; HCL HP becomes HCL Infosystems.

• Tata Unisys becomes Tata Infotech as Unisys pulls out of the JV.

• MNCs overtake local brands as Compaq and IBM replace HCL HP and Wipro as leading PC vendors.

1998: The National IT Task Force formed by the Government of India. Its 108 recommendations are accepted in a record time.

• Various state governments led by Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu start their own IT Task Force.

• Rajesh Jain sells off IndiaWorld to Satyam for $500 mn; the Indian dotcom dream begins.

• Intel sets up multimedia lab at IISc; IBM opens its research center at IIT Delhi; Nokia sponsors IIT VLSI course.

• VC concept gains currency.

• C-DAC under Dr Vijay Bhatkar builds PARAM 1000, India's first indigenous supercomputer.

• New Internet policy announced as Satyam Infoway begins operation as the first private ISP.

1999: Infosys becomes the first Indian company to get listed in the NASDAQ.

• Ashok Soota leaves Wipro and starts his own venture, Mindtree Consulting.

• HCL Technologies files for an IPO.

• Premji becomes the world's richest Indian; Vivek Paul brought in from GE to head Wipro Tchnologies.

• Xerox floats 100% subsidiary; increases stake in Modi Xerox.

• DoE recommends 100% FDI for the IT industry.

2000: HP Global set up in Bangalore for back-office work.

• nDotcom bloodbath starts with Indiainfo and Indya being the two major casualties.

2001: Tata Sons (through TCS) acquires 51% stake in CMC; Tata Group also acquires controlling stake in VSNL.

• Dewang Mehta passes away; Kiran Karnik takes over as Nasscom President.

• Polaris acquires Orbitech.

• Global tech-led slowdown, 9/11, 12/13 and war threats are too much for the IT sector to ward off. Growth rates slip drastically.

• Nasscom sets software target of $87 bn ($50 bn exports) by 2008

2002: Nandan Nilekani takes over as Infosys CEO from Narayana Murthy.

• IBM acquires PriceWaterHouse Cooper.

• Centrino mobile technology launched in India.

• Moser Baer ties up with Imation and launches its own brand of optical media products in the domestic market.

• Microsoft India kicks off Project Shiksha in schools.

2003: Bharti signs landmark IT outsourcing deal with IBM.

• GTL's attempted acquisition of Redington ends in fiasco.

• Wipro acquires Spectramind in the biggest BPO deal till date.

• NIIT demerges into two separate companies; the software services business is spun off as NIIT Technologies, while the training unit is called NIIT Ltd.

2004: Both Chandrababu Naidu and SM Krishna lose elections; a big disappointment for all pro-IT politicos, as the IT initiatives in the two states initially lose steam, best exemplified by the closing down of the Bangalore Action Task Force. Industry leaders concerned about Bangalore's deteriorating infrastructure.

• The US anti-outsourcing brigade gains momentum in the run up to the US election; once John Kerry loses, the movement fizzles away.

• Indian software companies cross the billion dollar barrier. TCS breaks the ceiling first, followed by Wipro and Infosys.

• The infamous MMS scandal related to DPS students breaks out. Baazee CEO is arrested leading to the opening up of the Pandora's can of legal worms.

• TCS, India's largest IT company, finally files for an IPO.

• Ingram Micro takes over Tech Pacific impacting the dynamics of the Indian channel industry.

• The Government announces its Broadband Policy, permitting the use of 2.4 GHz in outdoor locations.

• Samsung scandal breaks out with several top functionaries forced to resign.

• HCL Group launches a brand unification program, operation heartbeat.

• Bank of India outsources IT infrastructure to HP.

2005: Oracle acquires 61% stake in i-flex for $909 mn.

• TCS, Infosys, Patni among ABN Amro's five global IT vendors. The $400 mn five-year deal is a landmark; it is the largest outsourcing deal bagged by the Indian IT industry till then.

• The image of Indian BPO takes a major hit as data theft scandals hit the country one after the another-it started with MphasiS in Pune, continued with the Sun sting operation, then Intelenet and HSBC among others.

• Wipro and TCS lead Indian companies on an acquisition spree across the world.

• AMD announces $12 bn semiconductor fabrication unit in Hyderabad.

• HR trouble brews at Intel as the company clamps down on fake claims by employees.

• Lenovo completes a textbook transition of channels and customers for IBM's PC division.

• The glass ceiling is broken with Neelam Dhawan taking over as head of Microsoft India.

• GECIS becomes a third-party provider and is rechristened GENPACT.

• TCS acquires Tata Infotech.

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