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But Acharya had always loved physics and maths for their logic and ability to explain the fundamentals of the world around and so did not consider becoming a lawyer himself. He did his B.Sc. from the MGM College of Udupi and when Acharya senior asked him if he wished to become a lawyer and join his successful practice, he declined.

"My father never mentioned it again. He must have been disappointed, particularly as my brothers had also opted for other professions, but he never showed it. He never interfered," says Acharya.

The C-DOT campus in Mehrauli is impressive, set in solitary splendour amid acres of landscaped gardens. It is very spacious inside, providing uncluttered workspace for the R&D engineers developing cutting-edge technologies in laboratories, which Acharya says are world class.

Coming back to his childhood, the softspoken and calm Acharya says that growing up with lots of siblings gave him a sense of security. "You always feel reassured that there is someone to take care of your problems. As a young person, you can be assailed by doubts and anxieties, but my siblings made me feel safe. They helped me with my studies, they shaped my values, and the elder ones were role models," he says.

Because his siblings were all voracious readers, he also developed a passion for reading. When he was eight, one of his brothers dragged him to a private library and made him a member. His other siblings bought him books as presents. The reading habit was reinforced by the fact that his school friends also loved books.

Every activity was shared and supported. If Acharya had a debate coming up at school, his sister would help him write it and his brothers would help him rehearse and provide feedback.

Although his father spent little time with the children except at mealtimes, Acharya had great respect not just for his dedication to his work but for his fortitude and cheerful spirit. His father was a staunch Congressman and one day he decided to enter active politics, but at a great cost to his legal practice. He contested the assembly elections as a Congress candidate but lost. "What I adored about him was that he never gave up. He picked himself up and rebuilt his legal career. He always looked at the brighter side of life," he says.

Another significant influence on the shaping of his personality was the Christian High School in Udipi where he excelled both in studies and in extra-curricular activities such as debates, elocution and essay writing. "I think it was one of the best schools in the country because it had an environment for all-round development of students. It gave space for questioning and understanding the world around me. I was nurtured in my areas of interest, from coaching in sports to being encouraged in my literary bent of mind," he says.

From his early days, Acharya wanted to become a nuclear scientist. After his B.Sc., he appeared for the tough entrance exam of IIT Bombay for M.Sc. and was selected. Yet, by some twist of fate, he joined IISc Bangalore, where he did his BE in 1972 and ME in 1974, both with distinction, in the Department of ECE.

 His first job was in ITI's transmission R&D department in Bangalore. "I love working in R&D because it's so exhilarating to discover solutions to problems. You're struggling to develop something and then suddenly a light appears –­ the answer. It's a bit like spiritual experience and I have had many such experiences," he says.

Acharya is an expert in the field of wireless communication and telecom network engineering. He has led R&D work towards the successful development of products in microwave radio, Bluetooth, optical communications and public key infrastructure. He has extensive experience in system engineering and integration of complex standards-based telecom networks, especially for the strategic appllication of the armed forces.

C-DOT, an autonomous body set up under the Ministry of Communications in 1984, is a telecom knowledge centre and, under the leadership of telecom visionary Sam Pitroda, was responsible for spearheading India's first telecom revolution. It was C-DOT that developed the first indigenous digital switch, giving India the rural automatic exchange. "Rural India heard the sound of the dial tone for the first time thanks to C-DOT's digital switch," says Acharya. But Acharya feels dismayed that India failed to build on the revolution launched by C-DOT. "We are a country of a billion people and the fastest growing mobile market in the world, yet we are nowhere in the area of manufacturing. Almost all our equipment is from MNCs, not our own," he says.

As executive director in charge of both the Banglaore and New Delhi divisions, he wants to focus on delivery. "When a new technology arrives, the market may forgive you for overpricing it, but it will never forgive you for not being able to deliver it on time," he says. "There is nothing like a vacuum in the space of technology. If I don't deliver in time, someone else does. Further, telecom technology is developing at such a scorching pace that if you are late on delivery, your technology becomes obsolete by the time it reaches the market."

In the cellular space, C-DOT tried to build the technology but missed the bus. Now Acharya is determined to make up for lost time and opportunities. His optimism is based on a product called SGRAN (shared GSM-radio access network) which has an important role to play given that demand in the urban cellphone market has reached a plateau.

With the rural market still largely in virgin territory, the government has devised policies to encourage private operators to build mobile networks in the countryside by allowing sharing of passive infrastructure. The government's latest policy that allows active infrastructure sharing provides greater incentive to mobile operators to move into rural areas.

The purpose of the SG-RAN technology being developed by C-DOT is to support this policy, and its advantages, like C-DoT's digital switch, are that it needs no air-conditioning, very little power and is not choked by dust. "I hope this will trigger the next revolution. With this technology, C-DOT is back in the wireless space. We plan to launch a trial under the USO Fund pilot scheme in the next quarter," he says.

Another important development work at C-DOT is MAX-NG which will bring VOIP and other broadband services to the ageing fixed line infrastructure to boost broadband penetration in the rural areas and bridge the digital divide. A third product that will take the broadband pipe to rural areas is GPON. "We need broadband pipes to take broadband not just to young urban Indians who need to network on Facebook and Twitter and share music, but also to take services in education, health and e-governance to rural India. Here, our GPON product can play a significant role as a delivery platform for broadband services," he says.

Acharya is pleased that the government is pushing hard to take broadband to the villages. Given how mobiles have improved the incomes of electricians, plumbers and carpenters in the towns, he wants broadband to be used to take opportunities to rural Indians so that a second revolution can sweep through the country.

"This second revolution won't be as easy as the first. Cellphones took off because of people's basic need to communicate and talk to one another. The need to talk is much more powerful than the need to seek knowledge. So the government has to give a push to make this a reality and to have an impact on the standards of living of the rural poor. It will have to set up broadband networks and infrastructure to make it happen," he says.

One of Acharya's favourite phrases is that, if the first revolution was hearing the dial tone, the second revolution would be hearing the click of the mouse in rural India. When rural India has access to information and education on the internet, it will transform the country. "It is very important because we need to make the rural poor aware of their rights and their position in the world and the broadband internet is a vital tool. Only the flow of knowledge will create this awareness and help them to be more economically productive," he says.

Despite his years in the industry, he has not lost the ability to marvel at the wonders of technology. It still amazes him how a file in his computer can also become a picture or a piece of music. Or how the signal power that is required at the receiving end of a cellphone is one billionth of the power consumed by the tiniest electrical bulb.

On retiring, Acharya would like to teach. Throughout his career, he has often acted as a mentor to engineers who have worked with him. "I enjoy conveying my passion for enquiry and exploration. You have to make people wonder, question and explore," he says.

Acharya used to be a leading bridge player in the country but found that after his marriage to Sandhya, there was not enough time between work and home to pursue his passion. He gave it up and has never played since.

"I'm made that way," he says. "I used to be a heavy smoker. But when my son, Hemanth, was young, I scolded him once for a wrongdoing. He said I had no right to correct him because I ignored the ads that warned about the dangers of smoking. I gave up the next day and have never touched a cigarette since. My friends always used to say that I am digital –­ either zero or one."