Bangalore: Nandan Mohan Nilekani, 54, co-chairman of Infosys Technologies Ltd, India’s second largest software services firm, resigned from the board of the company he co-founded to join the government as chairperson of the Unique Identification Authority of India an agency working on a project to give every Indian a unique identity card, similar to the social security number in the US.
The authority, whose creation was approved by the government in November, will work on giving every citizen an identity card. Initially, every voter on the current electoral roll, a reasonably comprehensive list of people over 18, will get a unique number in the project. The agency will progressively add others, including those who are younger.
New calling: Nandan Nilekani, whose new position carries the rank of cabinet minister, will work with the Planning Commission on the project which will cover around 1.2 billion people—the largest in the world. Hemant Mishra / Mint
Over a period of time, through fail-safe procedures backed by intensive use of technology and with the help of multiple government agencies, the currency and comprehensiveness of the database will be perfected and photographs and biometric data will be added progressively to make the identification foolproof, the government said in November.
Nilekani, whose new position carries the rank of cabinet minister, will work with India’s apex planning agency—the Planning Commission—on the project which will cover around 1.2 billion people—the largest such project in the world.
The government had announced Rs100 crore for the authority to be set up, but there are no clear estimates on the cost of the project which could run into thousands of crores. “The Unique ID project is a transformational project for the country as it will overlay many underlying projects, creating huge efficiencies for the country leading to enhanced governance and reduced costs,” said Som Mittal, president of software industry lobby Nasscom, in a statement.
It will also mean big business for companies such as Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and Infosys Technologies Ltd, that are aggressively looking for local and government business to offset a slowdown in the US, the main market for Indian IT services firms.
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“If it is a business proposition, we will evaluate and take the appropriate decision,” said M. Sudhir, spokesman for Mahindra Satyam, now majority owned by Tech Mahindra Ltd.
A spokesperson for Wipro Ltd said it was too early to comment. A TCS spokesperson said the company participates in government projects and would examine taking part based on the project.