Being PM is not about the ‘sexy stuff ’: Nandan Nilekani, Infosys

Nandan Nilekani, cofounder of Infosys and former chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), may have turned his back on politics. But that doesn’t stop him from pondering over his own to-do list as the hypothetical PM of India.

Nilekani was asked what his top three priorities would be if he were the PM, at an Asia Society event, last Saturday in Mumbai. He was discussing his book, Rebooting India: Realizing a Billion Aspirations. Nilekani’s response:

"It’s not sexy stuff — plumbing, plumbing, plumbing." When asked to elaborate, he said. "One — create an on-boarding ramp to get the best and brightest to join the government. Second — identify, say 10 things, which can be delivered in three-four years. Last, create teams and give them support." The nuts and bolts of governing naturally need to be addressed. But Nilekani says, "Without the things I mentioned, you won’t have dramatic change."

Nilekani’s talk was engaging and humorous. When the Aadhaar scheme was being rolled out, experts believed that 100 cricket fields of servers and billions of dollars would be needed. In reality, the hardware could fit into a large house. "It doesn’t have to be as large as Mukesh’s (Ambani) house. There are reasonable houses," Nilekani said, to laughter from the audience.