ET Bureau Oct 5, 2011, 03.29am IST
Nandan Nilekani is the man entrusted with giving every Indian a unique identity number. For some, this project, called Aadhaar, will mark liberation from the tyranny of multiple ID documents. For a majority of Indians, especially the poor and those living in villages, this 12-digit number is a vehicle of empowerment, which would deliver welfare and commercial services they have never received as promised.
An opportunity to bring about this transformation made Nilekani leave the safety net of Infosys, the IT company he co-founded and lifted to great heights, and throw himself into the hurly-burly of government in July 2009.
An opportunity to bring about this transformation made Nilekani leave the safety net of Infosys, the IT company he co-founded and lifted to great heights, and throw himself into the hurly-burly of government in July 2009.
"There was no hesitation in my mind as I had always dreamt of this," he says of the offer that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made him. "As a child, I had watched my father and uncle closely, and heard family conversations on public policy."
The move from CEO to, effectively, a cabinet minister heading the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) presented unique challenges. A CEO in the private sector engages with a small group, like a board of directors or management. But public policy requires engaging with an array of stakeholders: politicians, bureaucracy, civil society, media and the intended beneficiaries of a policy, among others. Says the 56-year-old Nilekani: "The challenge lies in how you navigate the mosaic of different points of view and how you evangelise them to a wider section of people, the stakeholders."
The UIDAI has encountered many points of view about its work, especially lately. Its initial mandate was to just issue Aadhaar to 1.2 billion Indians based on their biometrics. Along the way, it offered to also collect biometrics of 100 million Indians till the time the National Population Register (NPR) was ready. It subsequently offered to do 200 million, and the government agreed. But its recent demand to do all 1.2 billion biometrics has been turned down.
The difficulty, says Nilekani, lies in showing various stakeholders it is a win-win. "We have tried to make each stakeholder, like state governments, banks and other ministries, an ally so that differences are minimised," he says. "You have to know the drivers and then work on them. No one can say they are against public good."
The move from CEO to, effectively, a cabinet minister heading the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) presented unique challenges. A CEO in the private sector engages with a small group, like a board of directors or management. But public policy requires engaging with an array of stakeholders: politicians, bureaucracy, civil society, media and the intended beneficiaries of a policy, among others. Says the 56-year-old Nilekani: "The challenge lies in how you navigate the mosaic of different points of view and how you evangelise them to a wider section of people, the stakeholders."
The UIDAI has encountered many points of view about its work, especially lately. Its initial mandate was to just issue Aadhaar to 1.2 billion Indians based on their biometrics. Along the way, it offered to also collect biometrics of 100 million Indians till the time the National Population Register (NPR) was ready. It subsequently offered to do 200 million, and the government agreed. But its recent demand to do all 1.2 billion biometrics has been turned down.
The difficulty, says Nilekani, lies in showing various stakeholders it is a win-win. "We have tried to make each stakeholder, like state governments, banks and other ministries, an ally so that differences are minimised," he says. "You have to know the drivers and then work on them. No one can say they are against public good."
Over time, Nilekani has become, as one UIDAI officer puts it, the "government's chief technology officer". Besides leading the Aadhaar drive, he is spearheading a committee that is advising the government on best technologies the state and people can benefit from.
He is also in charge of, among other things, creating the technology architecture that will see the benefits from about Rs 3,00,000 crore of welfare schemes - NREGS, fertiliser and kerosene subsidies, and food subsidies, among others - be eventually transferred directly to bank accounts of identified beneficiaries, thus plugging the leakages in the system that currently exist.
Research firm CLSA estimates that about 40% of the government's $250 billion subsidy and social spending outlay in select schemes is siphoned off.
He is also in charge of, among other things, creating the technology architecture that will see the benefits from about Rs 3,00,000 crore of welfare schemes - NREGS, fertiliser and kerosene subsidies, and food subsidies, among others - be eventually transferred directly to bank accounts of identified beneficiaries, thus plugging the leakages in the system that currently exist.
Research firm CLSA estimates that about 40% of the government's $250 billion subsidy and social spending outlay in select schemes is siphoned off.
On September 29, 2010, UIDAI issued the first Aadhaar in Maharashtra's Tembhli village; and so far, it has collected about 100 million biometrics and issued about 40 million numbers. As government solutions go, Aadhaar is uncharacteristic. It relies on technology to establish and authenticate identity, and facilitate transactions.
As the government's way of working goes, the UIDAI is also uncharacteristic in its construct. It is the first instance of a corporate chieftain crossing over to government in a public policy role of great importance and magnitude. In that context, Nilekani is a great fit.
As the government's way of working goes, the UIDAI is also uncharacteristic in its construct. It is the first instance of a corporate chieftain crossing over to government in a public policy role of great importance and magnitude. In that context, Nilekani is a great fit.
