IT Revolution – Comprehensive GK Notes for Railway Exams
1. What is the IT Revolution?
The Information Technology (IT) Revolution refers to the rapid transformation of economies, societies and governance through digital technologies—computers, internet, software & telecom—starting from the 1970s. It shifted the world from an industrial-based to a knowledge-based economy.
2. Timeline & Milestones
| Year | Event | Country | Significance |
|---|
| 1946 | ENIAC (1st electronic general-purpose computer) | USA | 30-ton, 18000 vacuum tubes |
| 1971 | Intel 4004 (1st microprocessor) | USA | 2300 transistors, 740 KHz |
| 1975 | Altair 8800 (1st personal-computer kit) | USA | Triggered Microsoft’s birth |
| 1976 | Apple-I released | USA | Steve Jobs & Wozniak |
| 1981 | IBM PC launched | USA | MS-DOS, open architecture |
| 1989 | WWW invented by Tim Berners-Lee | UK/CERN | Foundation of modern Internet |
| 1991 | India’s IT Policy liberalised | India | Export-promotion, STP scheme |
| 1995 | Internet privatised in India | India | VSNL dial-up begins (Aug 15) |
| 1998 | Google incorporated | USA | Page & Brin |
| 2000 | IT Act 2000 passed | India | Legal framework for e-commerce |
| 2007 | iPhone launched | USA | Mobile-computing era |
| 2008 | 1st Android phone (HTC Dream) | USA | Open-source mobile OS |
| 2015 | Digital India launched | India | 3 vision areas—Digital infra, Governance & Citizens |
| 2020 | Jio Platforms raises ₹1.52 tn | India | Largest tech-fundraise in 2020 |
| Parameter | Figure | Global Rank |
|---|
| IT+ BPM export revenue | $194 bn | 1st (service export) |
| Direct employment | 5.4 million | - |
| Share in India’s GDP | 7.4 % | - |
| Share in services export | 48 % | - |
| Cities with >1 mn IT workers | 6 | Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Mumbai, NCR |
Major Indian IT Services Cos (NIFTY IT constituents)
TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, LTIMindtree, L&T Infotech, Mphasis, Coforge.
4. Key Personalities & Terms
| Name | Associated With |
|---|
| Tim Berners-Lee | WWW, HTML, HTTP |
| Bill Gates | Microsoft, MS-DOS, Windows |
| Larry Page & Sergey Brin | Google Search |
| Mark Zuckerberg | Facebook (Meta) |
| Narayana Murthy | Infosys (1981) |
| Azim Premji | Wipro Technologies |
| Shiv Nadar | HCL (1976) |
| F.C. Kohli | TCS, 1st CEO, “Father of Indian IT” |
| Sam Pitroda | C-DOT, telecom revolution advisor to Rajiv Gandhi |
5. Government of India – Digital & IT Initiatives
| Scheme | Launch Year | Ministry | Objective |
|---|
| Digital India | 2015 | MeitY | Digital infra, e-governance, digital literacy |
| UMANG | 2017 | MeitY | Single mobile app for 1200+ services |
| BharatNet | 2011 (NOFN) | BBNL | 2.5 lakh gram-panchayat optical fibre |
| Common Service Centre (CSC) | 2006 | MeitY | 5.3 lakh digital kiosks |
| India Stack | 2016 | UIDAI + MeitY | Paperless, cashless layer (Aadhaar, eKYC, UPI) |
| Startup India | 2016 | DPIIT | 1 lakh+ recognised startups |
| PLI Scheme IT Hardware | 2021 | MeitY | ₹735 cr incentive for laptops, tablets |
| Extension | Stands For | Used In |
|---|
| .exe | Executable | Windows programs |
| .html | Hyper-text Mark-up Language | Web pages |
| .pdf | Portable Document Format | Adobe |
| .mp3 | MPEG Audio Layer-3 | Audio |
| .jpeg | Joint Photographic Experts Group | Image |
| .apk | Android Package | Android apps |
| .ipa | iOS App Store Package | iPhone apps |
7. One-liner Revision Facts
- ENIAC weighed 30 tons and consumed 150 kW power.
- Intel 4004 had 2300 transistors; today’s Apple M2 has 20 billion.
- “@” symbol in e-mail was chosen by Ray Tomlinson (1971).
- India’s first software export zone was set up in Bengaluru (STPI, 1991).
- TCS is Asia’s largest IT employer (>6 lakh).
- “Doordarshan” started national telecast in colour on 15 Aug 1982.
- India’s first supercomputer PARAM 8000 was unveiled in 1991 by C-DAC.
- “Akash” tablet (2011) was dubbed the world’s cheapest tablet at ₹2,276.
- UPI crossed 10 bn transactions/month in 2023.
- 5G spectrum auction in India (July 2022) fetched ₹1.5 lakh crore.
8. Multiple Choice Questions (15)
1. Who is known as the “Father of the Indian IT industry”?
**Answer:** F.C. Kohli2. The first microprocessor, Intel 4004, had how many transistors?
**Answer:** 23003. In which year was the World Wide Web invented?
**Answer:** 19894. India’s IT Act 2000 is based on which UN model law?
**Answer:** UNCITRAL Model Law on E-Commerce5. Which city is called the “Silicon Valley of India”?
**Answer:** Bengaluru6. The first Indian company to cross $200 bn market-cap is?
**Answer:** TCS7. What does ‘BBNL’ stand for in BharatNet?
**Answer:** Bharat Broadband Network Limited8. Who launched the iPhone in 2007?
**Answer:** Steve Jobs (Apple)9. India’s first computerised railway reservation started in which city (1986)?
**Answer:** New Delhi10. Which protocol is used to transfer web pages?
**Answer:** HTTP11. What is the full form of ‘PDF’?
**Answer:** Portable Document Format12. Which Indian state has the highest number of STPI registered IT units?
**Answer:** Karnataka13. Which company developed the Android operating system?
**Answer:** Google (Alphabet)14. The term “Digital India” was coined in which year?
**Answer:** 201515. India crossed 10 billion UPI transactions in which month of 2023?
**Answer:** August
Last-minute cram: Remember “F-C-K” for Father of Indian IT → F.C. Kohli; “B-L-R” → Bengaluru IT hub; “2000” → IT Act & Y2K bug!
BETA
