How Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani spends his time

Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani speaking at the AIMA event in New Delhi on February 21

Infosys co-founder and chairman Nandan Nilekani splits his time between corporate leadership and key technological interventions for the country—but he also makes room for doing nothing.

The Infosys co-founder said that he spends 20 percent of his time as the company’s non-executive chairman, while another 30-40 percent goes into DPI, artificial intelligence, and other technology initiatives.

“The rest of the time, I do nothing,” Nilekani said in conversation with Nalin Mehta, Managing Editor, Moneycontrol during a session at AIMA.

At a time when business leaders often glorify non-stop work, Nilekani’s approach highlights the importance of balance.

Meanwhile, during the event Nilekani also said that he believed that no matter how advanced artificial intelligence becomes, it will never replace human skills.

He believes that instead of chasing technical skills that may become obsolete, people should focus on what AI cannot replicate. I would rather go there and say, ‘Learn skill A, B, C,’ because that skill may not be relevant years from now,” he said.

Nilekani also said that the barrier to entry of creating AI models has significantly come down, he said pointing towards the latest developments in the sector.

“The government is focused on the India AI Mission and I think we will see in the next one year, some very significant models coming from India,” Nilekani stated.