Nandan Nilekani | |
|---|---|
 Nilekani in 2007 inWorld Economic Forum,Cologny, Switzerland | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1955-06-02)June 2, 1955 (age 70) |
| Party | Indian National Congress[1][2] |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Bachelor of Technology |
| Alma mater | Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay |
| Occupation | Non-executive chairman ofInfosys, and former chairman ofUIDAI |
| Awards | Padma Bhushan (2006) |
Nandan Mohanrao Nilekani is an Indian entrepreneur. He co-foundedInfosys and is the non-executive chairman of Infosys[3] replacing R Seshasayee andRavi Venkatesan, who were the co-chairs of the board, on 24 August 2017. After the exit ofVishal Sikka, Nilekani was appointed non-executive chairman of the board effective 24 August 2017.[4]He was the chairman of theUnique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).[5] After a successful career at Infosys, he headed the Government of India's technology committee,TAGUP.[6] He is a member ofIndian National Congress but not active in politics as of 2019.[7] As of October 2025, he is the 100th richest person in India with a net worth of US$3.2 billion.[8]
Nandan Nilekani was born inBangalore.[9] His parents Durga and Mohan Rao Nilekani wereKonkani originally fromSirsi in Karnataka.[10][11] His father worked as a general manager of Mysore and Minerva Mills and subscribed toFabian Socialist ideals that influenced Nilekani in his early years. Nilekani's elder brother, Vijay, works in theNuclear Energy Institute in theUnited States.
Nilekani studied at theBishop Cotton Boys' School and St. Joseph's High SchoolDharwad, Karnataka PU CollegeDharwad and received a bachelor's degree inelectrical engineering from theIIT Bombay.[12]
In 1978 he started his career at the Mumbai-basedPatni Computer Systems, where he met and was interviewed byN.R. Narayana Murthy. In 1981, Nilekani, Murthy, and five others left Patni to start their own company,Infosys. Nilekani became the chief executive officer of Infosys in March 2002 and served as CEO of the company through April 2007, when he relinquished his position to his colleagueKris Gopalakrishnan and became co-chairman of the board of directors. Before assuming leadership as CEO in 2002, Nilekani held various posts, including managing director, president, and chief operating officer. He served as its CEO from March 2002 to April 2007.[13][14][15] During his five-year tenure as CEO, Infosys' topline grew sixfold to $3 billion.
In 2017 he returned toInfosys after the exit of CEOVishal Sikka to become a chairman. Upon his return he changed power centre fromCalifornia back to itsBengaluru headquarters.[16]Also, such people as R. Seshasayee (a chairman and board director), Ravi Venkatesan (a co-chairman), Sikka (executive vice chairman and director), and Jeffrey Lehman and John Etchemendy (directors) resigned from their posts.
Nilekani left Infosys in July 2009 to serve as the chairman of theUnique Identification Authority of India, a cabinet-ranking position that he entered under the invitation of Prime MinisterDr. Manmohan Singh.[13][14] As chair of the UIDAI he was responsible for implementing the envisioned Multipurpose National Identity Card, or Unique Identity card (UID Card) project in India. This initiative aims to provide a unique identification number for all residents of India and will be used primarily as the basis for the efficient delivery of welfare services.[15] The identification method will bebiometric, and the drive to create thisgovernment database of the entirepopulation of India has been called "the biggest social project on the planet."[17]
They developedAadhaar, which is an Indian biometric ID system, a database, which contains demographic information, home addresses of Indians. In April 2017 1.14 billion Indian people got their ID number. In 2016, World Bank Chief EconomistPaul Romer called Aadhaar “the most sophisticated ID programme in the world.” This program is criticized for violating people's privacy and exposing personal information.[18]
He is a member of the board of governors of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) and the president of NCAER.[15] He also sits on several advisory boards, including those of theWorld Economic Forum Foundation and the Bombay Heritage Fund.[19]
Nilekani has appeared onThe Daily Show with Jon Stewart to promote his bookImagining India: The Idea of a Renewed Nation[20] and spoke at aTED conference in 2009 on his ideas for India's future.[21]
Nandan Nilekani played a key role in the development of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI),[22][23][24] a system that revolutionized digital payments in India. He was instrumental in its creation while serving as the chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and also led a committee that developed a framework for digital payments. Nilekani envisions a future where the energy sector experiences a similar transformation, drawing parallels to UPI and calling it "the next UPI".
Nilekani joinedIndian National Congress in March 2014 and contested from theBangalore South constituency where he lost by 228,575 votes[25] toBJP candidateAnanth Kumar in the2014 Lok Sabha election.[26]
In December 2016, he joined a committee to investigate how people in India could use digital payments to a greater extent.[27]
According to news reports, he was the richest candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections with declared assets worth Rs 7,710 crore in his affidavit filed before the Election Commission.[28]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BJP | Ananth Kumar | 633,816 | 56.9% | |
| INC | Nandan Nilekani | 405,241 | 36.4% | |
| JD(S) | Ruth Manorama | 25,677 | 2.3% | |
| AAP | Nina P. Nayak | 21,403 | 1.9% | |
| Turnout | 1,113,726 | 55.7% | ||
| BJPhold | ||||
Nilekani is chairman of EkStep, a non-profit literacy and numeracy platform.[30] Set up by the Nilekanis with an initial commitment of $10 million (about Rs 82 crore), EkStep looks at solving the 'learning problem' by creating a technology-led platform to help children in improving their 'learning outcomes' quite early in their life. EkStep intends to do it using gamified apps, hosted in the Google Play Store.[31]
Nilekani is president of the governing body of the New Delhi-based National Council of Applied Economic Research[32] (NCAER), India’s largest and oldest non-profit economic research think tank. NCAER, established in 1956, does grant-funded independent economic policy research and sponsored research studies for governments and industry. Its work covers almost all branches of economics, from economic forecasting to poverty analysis. NCAER is among a handful of think tanks globally that collect primary survey data on a scientific, national basis covering households, enterprises, consumers, and individuals. NCAER’s economic and social data sets are used widely for research and analysis on India.
Nilekani is also a serial investor and he has invested in technologoy startups including 10i Commerce, Juggernaut, Mubble Networks, Fortigo, P2SME, Railyatri, Axiom Consulting, Systemantics India, Sedemac Mechatronics, Disha Medical Services, Tracxn Technologies, and LetsVenture.[33]
In 2017 Nandan and wifeRohini decided to donate 50 percent of their wealth toGiving Pledge, which is a movement organized byBill Gates. The reason why they joined this movement was as following:"We see inequality is increasing sharply in most countries. We see the young and the restless in this interconnected globe, unsure of their future, wanting more but anticipating less."[34]
He also donated money to rebuild the hostel campus ofIIT Bombay.[35]
In 2008 he also set up the Indian Institute for Human Settlements to help to solve urban challenges for India.[36]
Nilekani is married toRohini Nilekani (née Soman), whom he met at a quizzing event atIIT.[37] They have two children, Nihar and Janhavi, each of whom has received an undergraduate degree fromYale University.[38] His first language isKonkani. In addition to Konkani, he speaksKannada fluently along withEnglish,Marathi, andHindi. The Nilekani family has a 2.31 percent stake[39] in Infosys as per the quarter ended March 2018.[40]
{{cite web}}:|last= has generic name (help)[permanent dead link]{{cite news}}:|author= has generic name (help)... The Unique Identification Authority of India is being established under the aegis of the Planning Commission for which a notification has been issued in January 2009. A provision of Rs. 100 crore has been made in the annual Plan 2009–10 for this ...
... The appointment of Nandan Mohan Nilekani, the co-chairman of Infosys, as the chairperson of the Unique Identification Authority of India is significant, not only because it marks a departure from the traditional government way of working... it shows that the government has actually put out an effort to hunt the right person for the job ...
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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