G R O U N D   Z E R O

Nandan Nilekani’s quiet revolution
Aadhaar will do more than just facilitate inclusive growth for India’s teeming millions. It will ensure effective implementation of the numerous welfare programmes and curb corruption
raj chengappa

Nandan Nilekani had rock-star status in the world’s software business when he was CEO of Infosys, which he co-founded. Three years ago he gave up his phenomenally successful career in the private sector to join the Government of India. He took over as Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) with the rank of a Union Cabinet Minister to execute the mammoth task of providing India’s 120-crore populace with unique identity numbers called Aadhaar.

When I met Nandan last year at the UIDAI headquarters in Bangalore and asked him why he decided to exit a 1,00,000-strong prosperous company to start life all over again, he answered simply, “I felt that I should be giving back to the country in some way. We all have benefited enormously from the Indian growth story. I went to an IIT, got a degree, I was there in the software boom and I have gained a lot from the social environment. So I felt that doing things for the country for a few years was the right thing to do.”

Look at “the things” Nandan has been doing in just the past two years. Yesterday, the 21st crore Aadhaar, or identification number, was handed over to Vali, a resident of a tiny village in Udaipur district, at a function presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who was also present on the occasion, wasn’t exaggerating when she described Aadhaar as “the world’s largest social inclusion programme.”

Aadhaar will do more than just facilitate inclusive growth for India’s teeming millions. It will ensure far more effective implementation of the numerous welfare programmes and public services that both the Centre and state governments have launched over the years. It will cut down on graft and plug leakages by ensuring that those for whom the schemes are meant actually get the money. As Nandan put it, “We will be able to address the challenge of making government expenditure more efficient, reduce diversion and leakages.”

Cutting through red tape, Nandan built in a short time what he terms as “the electronic equivalent of roads for the country — a soft infrastructure that would help reengineer public services.” In a little over a year, the team he picked built from scratch a speedy and foolproof ecosystem to enrol large numbers of people swiftly and give them an identity number.

Basically, the UIDAI built a software architecture under which you and I could go to an enrolment station, have our fingerprints and iris scan taken, fill in essential details like name, address, date of birth and sex, and have the cards delivered to us quickly. All our information is stored in secure databases that act as an instant online identify verification system when you go to a bank or a government office to avail of services.

I met Nandan again over lunch in Chandigarh 10 days ago, when he had come to discuss the implementation of the project with the Punjab and Haryana governments. He was his usual unflappable self and modest about his achievements. He said with a matter-of-fact voice that by 2014, as many as 60 crore people — or half of India’s population — would have an Aadhaar number.

That itself is a stupendous achievement. But the real benefit will come when states across the country deliver schemes using Aadhaar numbers to authenticate the identity of beneficiaries. Nandan’s visit to the region saw the launch of several pilot projects to test the efficacy of the system. In Ambala, a scheme was launched to check how effectively education scholarships given by the Haryana Government could be disbursed to students. Punjab agreed to try out disbursing pensions for the aged in several towns using Aadhaar cards. The Chandigarh Administration has made a start by using Aadhaar numbers for its scheme to give houses to the poor to ensure that no beneficiary could misuse it to have more than one house allotted to him.

All across the country pilot projects are underway to test Aadhaar’s efficacy for various government schemes before full-scale launches are made. In Mysore, for instance, the Karnataka Government has LPG cylinders delivered to residents using the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System that employs a micro-ATM to authenticate identity to ensure they get their quota of subsidised cylinders. People in several districts in Andhra Pradesh are using Aadhaar cards to take their quota of rations from fair price shops.

What is happening is a rapidly expanding movement that would revolutionise governance in the country and curb corruption. It’s time we all stood up and applauded the selfless service of Nandan Nilekani and gave him whatever support we can to further the cause. I enrolled for my Aadhaar card early this year and I now proudly carry it in my wallet. Have you enrolled? Do so if you haven’t — at least as a tribute to his work.

raj@tribunemail.com