Who is Nandan Nilekani? The Infosys co-founder tapped by PM Modi to lead exam reforms task force

Infosys co-founder and Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani has once again been entrusted with a major public policy role, this time as the head of the Narendra Modi government’s newly constituted task force on examination reforms.

His appointment comes amid sweeping changes in the education sector following nationwide protests over the NEET-UG paper leak, with the Centre seeking to overhaul India’s examination system through a panel of experts.

A familiar face in government reforms

Nilekani’s latest assignment continues a two-decade pattern of governments across party lines relying on the veteran technocrat for complex governance projects.

Exam reforms are not entirely new to him. In 2018, he was part of a seven-member Supreme Court-appointed committee led by retired Justice G.S. Singhvi to probe alleged irregularities in the Staff Selection Commission’s CGL and CHSL examinations. While the panel concluded there was insufficient evidence to invalidate the entire examination process, questions over implementation of its recommendations have persisted.

From Infosys to Aadhaar

Born in Bengaluru in 1955, Nilekani graduated in electrical engineering from IIT Bombay before co-founding Infosys with N.R. Narayana Murthy and six others in 1981. He served as the company’s CEO from 2002 to 2007 before taking on a series of leadership roles.

In 2009, the Congress-led UPA government appointed him as the founding chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), where he spearheaded the rollout of Aadhaar—India’s biometric identity programme. He also led the Technology Advisory Group for Unique Projects (TAGUP), helping design the digital backbone for tax and pension systems.

Continued role under Modi government

Despite the change in government in 2014, Nilekani remained closely associated with India’s digital transformation. After discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Aadhaar was retained and expanded as a cornerstone of welfare delivery and digital governance.

Following demonetisation in 2016, the Modi government appointed him to a committee tasked with accelerating digital payments. He later chaired the RBI’s High-Level Committee on Deepening Digital Payments in 2019 and joined the advisory council of the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) in 2021.

Nilekani also briefly entered electoral politics in 2014, contesting the Bengaluru South Lok Sabha seat on a Congress ticket, but lost to BJP leader Ananth Kumar.

Members of the new exam reforms panel

The newly formed task force brings together experts from technology, education, security and administration. Besides Nilekani, the panel includes:

• Former ISRO chairman S. Somnath
• Former Intelligence Bureau director Tapan Deka
• IIT Madras Director V. Kamakoti
• Former Education Secretary Anita Karwal
• Logistics expert Amrit Lal Meena

The committee has been tasked with recommending structural reforms to strengthen the integrity, transparency and security of India’s examination system in the wake of recent paper leak controversies.