Summary

Nandan Nilekani, born on June 2, 1955 in Bengaluru, Karnataka, is an Indian businessman, technocrat and philanthropist. He co-founded Infosys in 1981 and is today its non-executive chairman. Outside the business world, Nilekani is best known as the architect of Adhaar, the largest biometric ID program in the world and for contributing extensively to build India's digital public infrastructure.

Personal Information

Career Milestones

• 1978: Nilekani started his career at Patni Computer Systems where he befriended N.R. Narayana Murthy.
• 1981: He co-founded Infosys along with six other engineers in Pune, India.
• 2002–2007: Under Nilekani’s leadership, Infosys revenue grew 405% from ₹ 2,604 cr in the financial year ending March 2002 to ₹13,149 crore in the financial year ending March 2007.
• 2009–2014: He became the founding chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), spearheading the Aadhaar project.
• 2017: He returned to Infosys as its non-executive chairman after a leadership crisis.

Controversies

The Aadhaar scheme was criticised for data privacy and safety, with instances of data leaks and surveillance concerns.

Nilekani contested on a Congress ticket from high-profile Bangalore South Lok Sabha constituency in 2014 but lost it.

Awards and Honours

• Padma Bhushan was conferred on Nilekani in 2006 for his contribution in trade and IT industry.
• Time magazine listed him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2006 & 2009.
• He was also named Businessman of the Year by Forbes Asia.
• He received the Joseph Schumpeter Prize for innovative services in economy, economic sciences and politics.
• He was awarded the Nikkei Asia Prize in 2017 for business and economic innovation.

Philanthropy and Social Activities

In 2017, Nandan and Rohini Nilekani signed up for Bill Gates and Warren Buffett's Giving Pledge initiative, agreeing to give away half their fortunes to philanthropic activities. He also co-founded IIHS to meet urban challenges in India.

In 2024, people+ai, an initiative by Nilekani’s EkStep Foundation unveiled ‘Adbhut India’ (Amazing India) which aims to harness AI as a powerful tool to enhance the lives of all Indians.

Personal Life

Nilekani is married to Rohini Nilekani, a well-known philanthropist and writer. They have two sons.