Piyush Singhal is no more

The Indian hardware industry has lost one of its doyens with the passing away of Piyush Singhal, the founder of Lipi Data Systems. Though Singhal had off late dissociated himself from the limelight, it in no way can reduce his immense contribution in building up the Indian hardware industry in the eighties. It was Singhal who first took on international giants like IBM head-on with competitive pricing for Lipi's range of line printers. Besides, he was one of the first people to start exporting hardware from India when he started exporting printers to Russia as early as mid eighties.

Singhal who was suffering from liver problem for quite sometime, had been hospitalized for almost a fortnight. He passed away on Monday, June 30.

Expressing his grief on the demise of Singhal, Pradeep Gupta, CMD and Publisher, Cyber Media (India) Ltd, said, "He was one of the earliest entrants into what used to be hot at that time--data processing centers. He and his brother set up Computronics which at that time (in 70s) imported mainframe computer on which data processing used to be done for a number of companies. As hardware took roots, he moved into that area with printer manufacture."

Recalling Singhal's contribution in the formation of Cyber Media, Gupta said, "When I was starting Cyber Media, he was one of the few persons that I consulted to test out the idea. His advise was indeed very valuable. He was always a great friend of Cyber Media."

Expressing deep sorrow on Singhal's demise, Raj Saraf, CMD, Zenith Computers Ltd, said, "I am extremely sad at the demise of Piyush Singhal. He was a stalwart in the real sense of the word. He pioneered the hardware industry and
lead it from the front--much before those who are today known as industry stalwarts were even there. This was during the days of IBM 360 when Lipi line printers with their competitive pricing took on IBM line printers."

Expressing his grave sorrow at the demise of Singhal, KR Naik, MD, D-Link India Ltd, said, "He was a very hardworking and an active member of MAIT and his contribution to the hardware industry can never be forgotten."

Tapping an unexplored realm of business opportunity, Singhal marked the beginning of a far-sighted business idea. He saw the opportunity in heavy duty, high-speed line printers and established Lipi Data Systems Ltd in 1986--a time when only international computer giants like IBM and ICL were present in India.

Adjusting to ever changing circumstances, attitudes and reviling market situations, Lipi took advantage of the technology license from the US-based Data Products Corporation and Germany-based Mannesmann Tally to put the right step forward, capturing the top slot in its area of operation.

Lipi has since then slowly built a reputation for its vast range of high-speed heavy-duty line printers, dot matrix printers, fanfold laser printers and printer suppliers.

Cyber News Service