[1][2] He was a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian honor, in 2002 for his contributions to the Indian software industry.
[4] Kohli was born in Peshawar, British India (present day Pakistan), on 19 March 1924, in a Punjabi Hindu Khatri Family.
However, while waiting to be commissioned, he applied for, and won a scholarship to Queen's University, Canada, where he went on to complete his BSc (Honours) in Electrical Engineering in 1948.
[14] After internally serving a few of the Tata Group companies, TCS went on to sign its first contract with Burroughs Corporation for software services, in 1972.
[13] In this role, and later as a part of the body's executive committee, he helped shape global partnerships and showcase opportunities to deliver IT services from India.
In 1959, under a request from P. K. Kelkar, the founding director of the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, he helped with the faculty selection and recruitment.
[11] He held executive and leadership roles in professional societies, including being on the board of directors of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) between 1973 and 1974, and was a chairman of the India Council.
[14][19] In 2002, Kohli was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian honour, for his contribution to the Indian software industry.