Nilekani Quits Infosys To Join Government – US-FOREX.US
MUMBAI -
In a rare and refreshing move, the Indian government has tapped a corporate executive to take charge of a long-delayed project to provide identification numbers to its 1.1 billion citizens, akin to a social security number. Nandan Nilekani, the much respected co-chairman of Infosys Technologies
, India’s second largest IT firm, will head the newly formed Unique Identification Authority of India. Nilekani’s appointment, announced Thursday, was mooted by prime minister Manmohan Singh and gives him the rank of a cabinet minister. The board of Infosys accepted Nilekani’s resignation which comes into effect from July 9. In a press release, N. R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Chief Mentor, said, “We are glad that an extraordinary individual like Nandan has got an opportunity to add value to India through this position.”Speaking to television channel NDTV, T.V. Mohandas Pai, director-human resources at Infosys commented that: “We’re going to miss him. But the larger context always has to win.”In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Nilekani said that while the decision to quit Infosys was a difficult one, it was an offer he couldn’t refuse. “The cause is so big and in the interest of the nation.” The ID project, he added, is crucial for not just security but ensuring financial inclusion for all citizens.
Nilekani’s contemporaries laud his move. Kiran Karnik, former head of the National Association of Software and Services Companies, an IT industry association that Nilekani helped co-found, said it was “rare” for a corporate executive to join the government. “That the government has picked someone of Nanda’s caliber and track record shows that they are serious about getting this project completed.”
Nilekani, 54, has been part of Infosys, a company he co-founded with five others, since its inception in 1981. The 3.45% stake that he holds with his family, worth 714 million today, has earned him a spot amongst India’s richest. Nilekani is also among the country’s more philanthrophically-inclined entrepreneurs. He’s a regular donor to IIT, his alma mater and he and his wife recently pledged 5 million to Yale University, where his children study, to start an India studies program. An engineer from the elite Indian Institute of Technology, he started his career as a low-paid software engineer at a time when India’s outsourcing industry was still to take off. He ran Infosys as chief executive officer and managing director for five years until 2007. Giving up operational charge provided Nilekani, whose views inspired the title of NewYork Times’ columnist Thomas Friedman’s book The World is Flat, to pursue his own passion for writing and public service. He is a member of the National Knowledge Commission and the national advisory group on e-governance. He also sits on the review committee of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. Last year, Nilekani published Imagining India: Ideas for the New Century, a book that devotes a chapter to harnessing technology for transformation.”This is Nandan’s big opportunity to walk the talk,” said Karnik.