UIDAI to lose Nandan Nilekani's aadhaar next month

Moneycontrol Bureau

After a four-year stint, Nandan Nilekani's term as the chairman of the highly ambitious government ID project, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)'s Aadhaar comes to an end next month with enrollments nearing the 60-crore mark.Nilekani quit Infosys, the IT company he had co-founded, after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sounded him in early-2009 to head UIDAI, at the effective rank of a cabinet minister.

With the same commitment and focussed approach of Infosys founders that helped make the company a global player, Nilekani set up the complex machinery in quick time, issuing the first Aadhaar number in September 2010, and hitting the 100 million-milestone it by November 2011 and 200 million by February 2012. 

Despite his impeccable credentials as a corporate honcho, Nilekani had many hurdles to overcome during his spell in the government. The project itself faced stiff resistance from the Opposition, which was understandable. But what Nilekani would have found hard to swallow was sniping from within the party as many senior leaders resented the growing stature of the IITian in the party. His closeness to Congress VP Rahul Gandhi was one of the main reasons for senior party leaders' uneasiness.

This was evident from the fact that the finance ministry, which had backed every UIDAI decision, rejected its demand to increase its biometric capture mandate from 200 million to all 1.2 billion, and its outlay from Rs 3,023 crore to Rs 17,863 crore. The home ministry questioned the accuracy of the UIDAI data, effectively sending out the message that its own entity that does the Census will collect biometrics.

However, the biggest setback for the UIDAI programme was dealt by the Supreme Court interim ruling saying that Aadhaar was voluntary and its use could not be mandated by any government agency in order to provide services to citizens. The government, meanwhile, filed plea urging the SC to save the Rs 3,500 crore scheme. But for Nilekani, his political career is just getting started. Next up, Lok Sabha elections from Bangalore South on a Congress ticket — something that has not gone down well with party workers as well.

(Posted by Sagar Salvi)