Chandrashekhar is one of India’s most respected voices in digital policy, technology strategy, and e-governance. With an unparalleled career spanning over four decades in both the government and private sectors, he has been instrumental in shaping India’s IT, electronics, and telecom landscape.
As Chairman of the Centre for The Digital Future, Gurugram, a research organisation advocating evidence-based, non-ideological policies, Chandrashekhar advises several domestic and global technology-led organisations in board and advisory capacities.
A distinguished member of the Indian Administrative Service from 1975 to 2013, he served as Secretary to the Government of India for Electronics, IT, and Telecom, and later as President of NASSCOM. In the Ministry of Electronics & IT, he spearheaded the first National e-Governance Plan (2006) and transformative initiatives such as Aadhaar, Common Services Centres, Mobile Payments, MCA21, and e-Passports.
As Secretary Telecom and Chairman, Telecom Commission (2010–2013), he guided the sector through one of its most turbulent periods. At the state level, as Chairman & MD of APIIC and Secretary, IT of Andhra Pradesh, he led the creation of HITEC City, IIIT Hyderabad, and the state’s pioneering e-Governance program.
From 2013 to 2018, as President of NASSCOM, he became the global face of India’s IT-BPM industry, steering it through waves of anti-globalisation, driving startup ecosystem growth, and building scalable skilling programs for emerging technologies. In 2018, he chaired the Government-appointed Committee on AI policy, R&D, and skills.
Chandrashekhar holds an MS in Computer Science from Penn State University and a postgraduate degree in Chemistry from IIT Bombay. His many honours include the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration, IIT Bombay’s Distinguished Alumnus Award, and the Dataquest Pathbreaker of the Year Award.
