Meet Rama NS, a Karnataka woman engineer who was among the first to make Electronic City famous worldwide.
Rama NS, one of the first female engineers in Karnataka, has worked for corporate companies like ITI, Infosys, and now ELCITA for the past 50 years. She serves as a teacher, mentor, and advocate for women’s rights.
Rama NS was among the first women in Karnataka to earn an engineering college degree fifty years ago.
The Advisor of Electronics City Industrial Township Area (ELCITA), India’s first self-governing municipality, has walked many pathways, overcome many preconceptions, and faced hurdles in a variety of fields over the past fifty years to become the strong leader she is today.
In an interview, Rama discusses the various facets of her career, including her time in engineering college, her groundbreaking work with NEC and the Infosys Foundation, evolving technology, and her anti-sexual harassment initiatives.
She does so with a great deal of empathy and understanding for the times she lived in and how they are changing, rather than with pride.
The times are changing. First and foremost, Rama thinks that one must push themselves beyond their comfort zones and continue to learn while working.
She goes on to argue that networking is a vital tool for advancing in one’s job and personal life, and that controlling one’s ego without sacrificing self-respect is crucial.
Given how busy women are, I’ve always thought networking for them may be difficult.
I have experienced times when there were no emails available for personal or business communication. These days, private messaging apps like WhatsApp are particularly helpful for women in particular for maintaining connections with groups that are meaningful to them, she says.
Although WhatsApp groups for women are motivating and a way for people to share knowledge, Rama advises that these groups’ goals should be explicit in order to only generate good vibes.
Online one-on-one conversations, such as those on WhatsApp, are more effective when it comes to mentoring
In 1971, Rama was among the first women to be sent to IIT-Kharagpur to learn about microwave systems. This was my first trip outside Karnataka that my parents allowed me to go on, and I am grateful to my immediate boss for this opportunity.
Rama joined Indian Telephone Industries after finishing her electrical engineering course with a gold medal in 1970. In 1995, Rama joined Infosys.
She laughs and explains, “I have always felt that being with young people makes you feel young, but I don’t know how they felt.”
She claims that the fact that she approached young people to learn and ask questions without hesitation significantly changed how others saw her. She rose to the position of location head for Bangalore DC, which had 22,000 employees, and delivery head for a sizable team of 4,500 at Infosys.
In addition, she began mentoring women and got active in the community. Rama now serves as the co-chairperson of Infosys’ anti-sexual harassment program. Members have received training from Rama on how to carry out efficient investigations.
She was in charge of resolving several instances and enforcing justice since she supports a reformative approach.
Rama retired in 2009 at the age of sixty. She wanted to start a regular life with her family at that moment. However, it was not to be. Rama says,
“It was my duty as CEO of ELCITA to advance Bengaluru’s Electronics City and raise the standard of living for the local population.” She oversaw all municipal operations, including garbage collection, road upkeep, security, and giving businesses a shared platform and amenities center, all with an emphasis on the industrial estate’s sustainable growth.
These days, ELCITA has smart traffic signals, smart parking, smart street lights, e-toilets, smart water supply, smart waste management, smart fleet management, smart complaint/issue management, and smart security.
Have faith in yourself. She feels that even while women have made great strides since she began her career fifty years ago, they still need to meet the demands of effectively managing both work and family.
“I believe that many women have doubts about their ability to succeed. Despite climbing on microwave antenna towers, I never felt like a woman at any of the companies I worked for, and I never asked for special treatment because I am a woman.
“I don’t think that it makes a big difference that I’m a woman doing a task,” she says.