Nilekani quits Infosys board; to head govt project

BENGALURU, INDIA: Infosys Technologies has announced that Nandan M Nilekani, will relinquish the position of co-chairman and Member of the Board at Infosys, to take charge as the Chairperson of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), in the rank of a Cabinet Minister.

An Infosys release said the resignation will be effective from July 9, 2009.

Nilekani is a co-founder of Infosys and has served as a director on the company's board since its inception in 1981. Between March 2002 and June 2007, he served as the company's CEO and MD. Thereafter, he was re-designated as the co-chairman of the Board of Directors.

The Infosys Board placed on record its deep sense of appreciation for the services rendered by Nilekani as a co-founder, COO, CEO and MD, and as the co-chairman of the Board of Directors.

Expressing happiness on the new assignment of Nilekani, NR Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Chief Mentor of Infosys said, "We are glad that an extraordinary individual like Nikelani has got an opportunity to add value to India through this position. As a company that has always put the interest of the society ahead of itself, Infosys will accept his absence with a sense of duty to a larger cause, but with deep sadness at the departure of one of her most illustrious sons. We, the Infoscions, wish him the best in his new assignment."

The UIDAI project is an ambitious project to provide every Indian with a unique identity card. The card gives the citizen a 16-digit ID number, which provides financial, educational, health related information of the card-holder.

Welcoming the appointment of Nandan Nilekani as the chairperson of the Unique Identification Authority of India, Som Mittal, President, Nasscom, said, this move demonstrated the commitment of the UPA Government to fast track implementation of their election manifesto.

"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," he said in a statement.

Som Mittal also pointed out that Nasscom has been advocating the need to accelerate IT adoption in the Government and this initiative will overhaul and direct the delivery mechanism for public goods and services to intended beneficiaries.

Kapil Dev Singh, Country Manager, IDC India said Nilekani's appointment demonstrates the leadership and maturity of an organization that can spare its leaders full time for challenging assignments of this significance leading to more contemporary and competent leaders to take on the reigns of Infosys.

“India needs more leaders who can rise above their company interests to take on projects of great societal impact,” he said. “We must credit the government for spotting visionary talent with great execution capability to take charge of a project that cuts across multiple government domains.”