Nilekani quits Infosys, to join Govt

Reuters
Posted: Thursday, Jun 25, 2009 at 1528 hrs IST
Updated: Thursday, Jun 25, 2009 at 1528 hrs IST

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New Delhi: Nandan Nilekani, co-chairman of Infosys Technologies Ltd, India's No 2 outsourcer, has resigned from the company's board to join the government, the company said on Thursday.

Nilekani, one of the founders of Infosys, has been invited by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to head government agency Unique Identification Authority of India in the rank of a cabinet minister, Infosys said in a statement.

Nilekani, a former chief executive of the company, was not involved in active management since becoming co-chairman in 2007.

Shares in Infosys, which has a market value of about $21 billion, were up 0.7 percent at 1,771.25 rupees at 0849 GMT in a Mumbai market down 0.5 per cent.

Comments

» Mr. Nandan NIlekani

Posted by K.V. Suryanarayanan on 2009-06-30 16:45:39.199172+05:30
Along with seven board members, Infosys was created and today it is an internationally reputed company known for its transparency and integrity. Though Mr. Nandan might find it difficult to adjust to the Government way of working (having been brought up in an IT culture all along), his sacrifice of a great job in Infosys needs to be appreciated. All Indians should be proud of him. He will definitely bring laurles to India by make the UNIQUE IDENTIFICATION AUTHORITY OF INDIA PROJECT a grand success and I wish him good luck in all his endeavours to make this happen.

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» BusinessMen as Ministers - Hmmmmm

Posted by Suma on 2009-06-27 04:57:34.869806+05:30
These guys Nandan Nilekani and Sudha Murthy may not be as bad as Ramalinga Raju and co,but they are quite bad,afterall these are businessmen and cant expect them to be 100% ethical.They wouldnt have defaulted so much as to go to jail,but definitely they are also erring in business and bringing this kind of people into the cabinet is not a very good idea.Is this a way of the government to express gratitude for the money donated by these Infosys businessmen to feed poor children daily.I dont like these Infosys guys.If only the common man knew the true worth of these rags-to-riches village urchins who support and protect the evil, wouldnt entertain these guys to serve the country.Only because a fresher who has already been employed by the company, doesnt pass some crap exam conducted by Infosys,is removed and he is driven to such an extent that he commits suicide then this is as bad as the suicide committed by farmers.Still people think this sort of people should come into power.

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» Professor Dr

Posted by Tarun Kant on 2009-06-27 01:58:30.775256+05:30
So, Nandan enters Government after Sam Petroda who could, no doubt, bring in revolution in communication (but at what cost?/bandwidth infrastructure is still pathetic?/ unreliable/ lacks robustness)but could hardly do anything in "national water mission" and " national literacy and education mission".We need clarity in policy emphasis and prioritization on health, hygiene, basic education, clean drinking water delivery, clean dust-free

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» Hats-off to Mr.Nilekani

Posted by Sameer Kanikdale on 2009-06-26 13:07:45.107513+05:30
We, the people of India always dreamt of having an educated and responsible person in the role of cabinet ministers. Looks like the appointment of Mr.Nandan Nilekani is start of new era where the corporate tycoons are moving into the Government jobs. Mr. Nilekani has set the benchmark for the corporate world for moving to the government jobs. Let's hope Mr. Nilekani will create employment opportunity for many, which is most desired thing in the period of economic slow-down.

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» NILEKANI INDUCTION

Posted by M.V.Muthu on 2009-06-26 07:15:02.687176+05:30
A most welcome development and I profusely commend the Prime Minister for this initiative to induct a proven professional into the decision facilitating / decion making process. One expects that such professionals will have an emphatic say in the governance. Hopefully, this is just the beginning and there will be several such moves to avail the vision, knowledge and experience of proven lot who have laid down down office in corporate world. In a way, it is on the lines of USA in appointing Secretaries equivalent to Ministers.

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» Useless project

Posted by vasu on 2009-06-26 02:57:14.198681+05:30
The most worthy manager of the country has been selected for the most useless project . A lot of controversies are bound to dodge the project and derail it . In a nation that has never invested in basic infrastructure like water , power and education a National Identity card will be a farce at best and a burden on its poor citizens who lack every basic amenity.

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» comment

Posted by anzar on 2009-06-25 22:27:14.092834+05:30
nilekani is well known manager of infosys. it is good for india that he become head government agency Unique Identification Authority of India not only for india but indian people also.

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» I can imagine India shorlty with the National ID project Nandanji

Posted by Raj Samuel on 2009-06-25 19:11:23.689713+05:30
I have read his memoir “Imagining India” with awe, his intricate retrospective analysis on the past policies, politics, leaders, history, macro economics of India and its long term impact, the failures, the successes, the probable solutions are a huge contribution towards a common man’s think tank, to understand the challenges, oppositions countered by this nations forward thinking Leaders, in taking this Nation to its next level, of inclusive growth, creating equal opportunities, better education

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» Make use of Benched IT Professionals for National ID

Posted by Bhat on 2009-06-25 18:34:44.09776+05:30
This National ID project which is going to be headed by Nilekani should make use of surplus resources in every IT organization. Esp. the resources who are put in VPP from Mahindra Satyam. IT companies can give the benched employees to this team which manages the National ID project for six months to one year. This way the benched employees can get good job experience and govt can get the work done in time. These salaries to be paid by the govt for these team members. When this project get completed, all these people who have taken part in it can be proud of the work they did for the nation esp on their bench time. Done this way IT companies need not worry about the bottom lines and govt can bring down the cost of the project.

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» Very Good News

Posted by samim on 2009-06-25 18:03:10.099286+05:30
All the best Nilekani.

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