Archive · 7 Sep 2026
How Infosys’s Move From Pune Reshaped India’s Startup Story
In 1994, India made a new policy for telecommunications.
Around the same time, the internet began arriving in India.
Sunil Mittal’s company built an early telecom business that later became Airtel.
Narayana Murthy started Infosys in a small garage in Pune.
Infosys soon moved its headquarters to Bangalore.
The company grew and trained many talented workers.
Some of those workers later started companies of their own.
The story shows how one company’s location can affect an entire start-up ecosystem.
India’s 1994 National Telecom Policy helped open the way for a major telecommunications transformation.
Sunil Mittal’s company, later known as Airtel under Bharti Enterprises, became an early Indian telecom start-up.
VSNL introduced internet access in India in 1994 through costly 9.6 kbps dial-up connections.
Narayana Murthy started Infosys in a Pune garage before moving the company to Bangalore.
Infosys’s relocation helped make it a talent hub that influenced India’s wider start-up ecosystem.
- Who
- Sunil Mittal, Narayana Murthy, Infosys, Airtel, and early Indian technology entrepreneurs.
- What
- The development of India’s telecom, internet, and software sectors, and the influence of Infosys’s move from Pune to Bangalore.
- When
- The key developments occurred around 1994 and 1995, with the internet debuting in India in 1994.
- Where
- India, including Pune, Bangalore, and Delhi.
- Why
- Telecom policy, internet access, and software businesses were developing at the same time, while Infosys’s move helped create a major talent base in Bangalore.
- National Telecom Policy
- India drafted its National Telecom Policy in 1994.
- Early telecom entrepreneur
- Sunil Mittal bid for a Delhi telecom licence and later built the Airtel business under Bharti Enterprises.
- Internet in India
- VSNL introduced dial-up internet access in India in 1994.
- Dial-up cost
- The excerpt states that access cost Rs 15,000 per year for 9.6 kbps, equivalent to about Rs 45,000 today.
- Infosys origins
- Narayana Murthy began Infosys in a garage near Pune.
- Infosys in 1995
- By 1995, Infosys had reached Rs 30 crore in revenue, moved to Bangalore, and listed on the Bangalore Stock Exchange.
- Startup impact
- Infosys became a source of talent for people who later started businesses independently.