From Aadhaar to exams: Who is Nandan Nilekani, the Infosys co-founder PM Modi has entrusted with exam reforms?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced that Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani will lead a high-powered task force on examination reforms.

Here is a look at who Nilekani is and the work he has done so far.

Who is Nandan Nilekani?


Nandan Mohanrao Nilekani was born on June 2, 1955, in Bengaluru to Mohan Rao Nilekani and Durga Nilekani, a Konkani family originally from Sirsi in Karnataka. He completed his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay.

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He began his career in 1978 at Patni Computer Systems in Mumbai, where he met N R Narayana Murthy. In 1981, Nilekani, Murthy and five others left Patni to co-found Infosys. He went on to hold several leadership roles at the company, including Managing Director and President, before becoming CEO and Managing Director of Infosys from 2002 to 2007.

He returned to Infosys as Non-Executive Chairman in August 2017, replacing R Seshasayee and Ravi Venkatesan, who had been co-chairs of the board after the exit of then-CEO Vishal Sikka.

What was his role in Aadhaar?

In 2009, Nilekani stepped down from Infosys to become the founding chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), a role he held at the rank of a Cabinet Minister from 2009 to 2014, at the invitation of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Under his leadership, UIDAI rolled out Aadhaar, India's biometric identification system, which has since scaled to over a billion enrolments. He later headed the Technology Advisory Group for Unique Projects (TAGUP), a Government of India committee on technology systems.

What other public and philanthropic work has he done?

Nilekani has co-founded and chairs the EkStep Foundation, a not-for-profit effort started with his wife Rohini Nilekani to build a learner-centric, technology-based platform for improving basic literacy and numeracy among children. He has also been associated with efforts around India Stack and the Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA), frameworks that underpin digital public infrastructure such as UPI.

In January 2023, he was appointed co-chair of the G20 Task Force on Digital Public Infrastructure for Economic Transformation, Financial Inclusion, and Development. He is a member of the Indian National Congress but has not been active in electoral politics.

What awards and recognition has he received?

Nilekani was named Asia's Businessman of the Year by Fortune Magazine in 2003, received the Joseph Schumpeter Prize in 2005, and was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2006. He was also named Businessman of the Year by Forbes Asia.

TIME magazine listed him among the 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2006 and 2009, and again in its 2024 list of the 100 Most Influential People in AI. Foreign Policy magazine named him among its Top 100 Global Thinkers in 2010.

In 2014, he received The Economist's Social and Economic Innovation Award for his leadership of Aadhaar. He received the E&Y Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017, along with CNBC-TV18's India Business Leader Award and the 22nd Nikkei Asia Prize for Economic and Business Innovation in the same year.

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In 2019, he was inducted as an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2022, the Business Standard Annual Awards conferred him with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

What is his net worth and personal life?

Nilekani is married to Rohini Nilekani, whom he met during an IIT quiz contest; the couple have two children. As of 2025, his net worth was estimated at around $3.2 billion, largely from his Infosys holdings, placing him among India's 100 richest individuals. He is a signatory to the Giving Pledge and has made philanthropic contributions to institutions including IIT Bombay and the EkStep Foundation.

What books has he written?

Nilekani has authored "Imagining India." He co-authored "Rebooting India: Realizing a Billion Aspirations" with Viral Shah, and "The Art of Bitfulness: Keeping Calm in the Digital World" with Tanuj Bhojwani, released in January 2022.