Imagining India's potential, the Nandan Nilekani way

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After Infosys, it is time for India. Nandan Nilekani, one of the co-founder of India's second largest IT company, is a man with a mission: that is to galvanise everybody to achieve the potential of India.

 

In his recently-published book, Imagining India, Nilekani outlines the idea that he thinks will make it happen. Here, in a tete-a-tete, he bares his heart out in the vision that manifested itself in the form of the book.

 

Here is a verbatim transcript of the exclusive interview with Nandan Nilekani on CNBC-TV18. Also watch the accompanying video.

 

Q: Today we are going to speak to you more in your role as the author of Imagining India, and perhaps a little less as Co-Chairman and Co-Founder of Infosys. The first question is, people like you and by extension people like us become successful there is this tearing desire not to engage or bring down engagement with government and with the public administration around us to a minimum. You seem to be doing the opposite. Where is this motivation coming from?

 

A: India is at this very unique position. It is a chance that comes for a nation just once in a millennium. We are lucky to be here at this critical juncture. I have been successful in my career way beyond what I had thought I would be. So, I think it is time for me to give back. Both my father and uncle were very pro-public service types. They used to go out and do things. Maybe I got influenced by that and I am sort of replaying that now.

 

Q: You have over the years worked on the National Knowledge Commission, the Urban Renewal Mission, the Bangalore Agenda Task Force. There are innumerable committees, government bodies where you have come in as a volunteer consultant. What is it in this experience over the years that you have seen that makes you feel optimistic about the engagement because I am sure there is optimism underlining this?

 

A: Yes, very much. There are many examples of where I have engaged and when at the beginning it didn't seem very promising like urban reforms. When I began looking at urban issues, it was not a very hot topic. I learnt a lot during the five years I did the Bangalore Agenda Task Force. A lot of that experience became useful when we helped in shaping the policies of the Urban Renewal Mission, which ultimately turned out to be a Rs 50,000 crore programme.

For the complete interview watch the video.