Nandan Nilekani, chairman of the 

Unique Identification Authority of

India (UIDAI), has been named as one of Foreign Policy magazine's 'Top
100 Global Thinkers'. In other words, people who had "the big ideas that
shaped our world in 2010." Nilekani's big idea is to give every Indian an
identity number, which will address issues of inclusion and mobility. The
billionaire co-founder of Infosys Technologies is today a self-confessed
"plumber of the government". He tells Asha Rai about the ideas and issues
that will define the next decade. Excerpts: 

How changed would India be by 2020? 

Let's look at the big changes that are happening. Demography's the
biggest. India's experiencing the demographic dividend. If we look at the
next 10 years from a demographic lens, what do you see? You will see this
huge population of young people who are very aspirational. Aspirations are
being unleashed at every level: the chauffeur wants college education for
his child; the maid is saving for her daughter's English education. 

The important thing is that this population is future-looking than past-

looking. They are looking at how to make their life better and not worrying
about something in the past. That's a huge shift. We need to satisfy the
aspirations of these people. If we are not able to do that it will have its own
consequences. I believe that's going to be the biggest thing of the next
decade. 

Meeting the aspirations of the Indian young will also have its own strategic
implications: you will need to invest in education, health, and infrastructure.
You need to urbanize faster. Plus, now it's in our interest to be globalized. If
we are going to be largest pool of young people in the world, then you must
keep trade and borders open so that our young can serve the world, either
by working from here (outsourcing) or by going there (migration). That's the
big thing. 

What other trends do you foresee? 

Mobility, internal and external. Within India , you will see a large number of
people moving from rural to urban, from north to south, from middle India to
coastal India. Already, we have some 100-120 million migrants. In the next
10 years it will become only more enhanced. 

And remember, when a migrant moves and leaves his family behind, it
means that people impacted by migration will be four times the number that
migrates . This has huge socio-economic consequences. 

It builds a remittance economy; the guy sends the money back, the family
is no longer poor. It up-ends traditional equations. It's exacerbated by a few
things; one is the demographic difference. Central India has higher
population growth rates than south and west. The fertility rate of UP is three
times that of Kerala. It's staggering that in the same country you have such
huge differences. So when the south and the west start ageing, it will have
fewer workers, central India will have more and internal migration will be
further accentuated by it. 

Finally, technology adoption, which in India is very, very high. Indians have
found technology as something that helps them in their aspirations. The
mobile phone is a classic example. Technology, aspirations, mobility and
demographic dividend. For me, those are the defining themes of the next
decade. 

What's the role of UID in this? 

I think 'Aadhaar' (the brand name of UID) is at the centre of this whole
thing. You cannot meet your aspirations without having your identity
acknowledged. The fact of the matter is, a large number of Indians don't
have that acknowledged existence. 

There are just 50 million Indians who have a passport -5 % of the

population. People who participate in the stock markets must be 2% of the
population, bank account holders must be 20% of the population (220
million). If you want to meet all the people's aspirations, you have to include
them in the society. To do that, the basic foundation block is identity. 

So, we call it 'Aadhaar' or foundation. Aadhaar addresses the mobility issue

too. If you are going to be mobile, you need an identity that travels with
you. The ability to create a national identity infrastructure is very important
in a very mobile society. 

What kind of Aadhaar numbers are you looking at? 

600 million in the next four years. By that logic, by 2020 every Indian
should have a number. 
Yes. In our view, there are three basic numbers everybody should have.
The Aadhaar number to identify themselves. A mobile number to
communicate and a bank account number. In the world of 2020, everybody
will have these three numbers and use them as levers for their aspirations. 

You don't take a salary. Why? 

My salary gets automatically routed to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund.
That's a better way to do it than the Re 1 salary model, I figured. I am doing
this as part of giving back to society. When I come home to Bangalore on
weekends, I pay my own way. But I do have a government house and car
in Delhi. 

Many people in the corporate sector would like to follow in your

footsteps? 
For my project itself, I have got lots of people as volunteers, on sabbatical
from outside. I meet a lot of people who have reached a point in their lives
when they would like to contribute to public service if they get the right kind
of role. People who have been very successful in business, in corporate
and other fields. There's definitely an interest but everybody wants to be in
the right role. 

What kind of innovations can emerge from India? 

One of our objectives is to create an innovation ecosystem. On the
Aadhaar infrastructure, you can build applications. Some young kid will
come out with a nifty application using Aadhaar on the mobile phone where
a group of people will suddenly be able to do something they couldn't do
earlier. You build these platforms where you take care of what's in the
public good. But we should not be writing the innovations. Innovations
should be done by innovators. 

What do you see as the one overarching idea of the next decade? 
The defining meta idea is that Indians in the next 10 years will think more of
their future than of the past and believe me that's important. It sounds
simple but it changes everything. 

Will politics change too? 

Obviously. If people are going to be talking of their future-of how it will be
better than in the past-politics has to respond to that.
Read more: 'Three numbers will define us: UID, mobile and bank account' -
The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/all-
that-matters/Three-numbers-will-define-us-UID-mobile-and-bank-
account/articleshow/7165555.cms#ixzz19uRILORS