Nilekani Focuses on Politics Not Tech

The tech chieftain leading India's effort to issue biometric national ID cards to its 1.2 billion people says the first challenge he faces isn't technological -- it's political. Nandan Nilekani ('78) stepped down as co-chairman of outsourcing giant Infosys Ltd. in June to take over the massive government project, collecting information on its citizens and helping India's poor get access to services that require proof of identity, from government wheat rations to mobile-phone subscriptions. The initiative requires basic personal details and biometric data such as fingerprints to be collected from every corner of the country and safeguarded from hackers.

"As more and more of our public services and public delivery is targeted towards individuals, the ability to identify those individuals uniquely to make sure that the right goods are going to the right person becomes even more challenging."

But Mr. Nilekani, credited with helping build Infosys into a global powerhouse, hasn't had much use for his technical prowess. The 54-year-old has spent much of his time delivering PowerPoint presentations to parties whose support he needs -- from banking and telecommunications regulators to state and municipal agencies -- each with a different idea about how to collect the information. "It's an evangelizing exercise to get everyone on board," Mr. Nilekani said in an interview at his office in New Delhi.

Critics are questioning various aspects of the ID project, including its cost, its technological feasibility and the security of identity records stored in the government's central database. The government has earmarked $25 million in the current fiscal year to get the project going. Outside estimates of the full cost of completing the ID database range from $2 billion to $30 billion. Mr. Nilekani declined to provide an estimate
 

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