Who Is Nandan Nilekani? Infosys Co-Founder Picked By PM Modi To Lead Exam Reform Panel

Nandan Nilekani, the Infosys co-founder and current chairman, has been chosen to lead a task force focused on reforming India's public examination system. A graduate of IIT Bombay, Nilekani later headed UIDAI and played key role in building Aadhaar.

Who is Nandan Nilekani?

Nandan Nilekani is one of India's best-known technology and business leaders. He is best known as one of the co-founders of Infosys, but his career has also taken him into public service, where he played a key role in building Aadhaar, India's biometric identity system.

Now, Nilekani is back in the spotlight after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced a high-powered task force to recommend reforms in India's examination system.

The panel is expected to explore how technology can be used to make examinations more secure, transparent and less vulnerable to paper leaks and other malpractice. The panel includes former ISRO Chairman S Somnath, former Intelligence Bureau Director Tapan Deka, IIT Madras Director V Kamakoti, former Education Secretary Anita Karwal and logistics expert Amrit Lal Meena.

The announcement came a day after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as Union Education Minister amid nationwide protests over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2026 examination and concerns over paper leaks.

In a video message shared on X, the PM said the government was taking several steps to protect the future of students and ensure that those responsible for harming their interests faced legal action.

He said fast-track courts had already been set up to deal with examination-related offences, while the government was also working towards introducing new legislation in Parliament with strict legal provisions.

HIGH POWERED TASK FORCE on examination reforms under the leadership of Shri Nandan Nilekani constituted.@NandanNilekani pic.twitter.com/mMpmPdIEL5

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 26, 2026

However, the Prime Minister said stronger laws alone were not enough and stressed the need to prepare the examination system for the future.

Nandan M. Nilekani's early life and education

Nandan Mohanrao Nilekani was born in Bengaluru on June 2, 1955. He studied electrical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay.

After completing his education, he began his professional career at Patni Computer Systems in Mumbai in 1978.

His career took a major turn in 1981 when he joined N.R. Narayana Murthy and five other colleagues to set up Infosys. The company went on to become one of India's biggest technology services firms.

The Infosys years

Nilekani held several senior positions at Infosys before becoming its chief executive officer in 2002.

During his five-year term as CEO, the company's revenue grew significantly, helping strengthen its position as a major global IT services company.

He later became co-chairman of Infosys before leaving the company in 2009 to take up a public service role.

Nilekani returned to Infosys in 2017 as non-executive chairman after a period of leadership turmoil at the company. He continues to serve as chairman of its board.

How Nilekani became the face of Aadhaar

Nilekani's work outside the corporate world began to attract even wider attention after he joined the government in 2009.

Then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appointed him as the founding chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), with the rank of a Cabinet Minister.

At UIDAI, Nilekani led the effort to build and roll out Aadhaar, India's large-scale biometric identity programme. The system was designed to provide residents with a unique identity number and later became an important part of India's digital governance system.

His work on Aadhaar established Nilekani as a technology leader capable of working on projects involving millions of people and large amounts of data. His role in the programme also brought debates over privacy and data protection.

His role in India's digital public infrastructure

Nilekani has also been closely associated with India's wider digital public infrastructure.

He has supported and advised initiatives around digital payments and other technology platforms that have helped shape the country's digital economy. He was also appointed co-chair of the G20 Task Force on Digital Public Infrastructure for Economic Transformation, Financial Inclusion and Development in 2023.

Through EkStep Foundation, which he co-founded and chairs, Nilekani has also worked on technology-based efforts focused on improving basic literacy and numeracy.

A brief stint in politics

Nilekani also entered electoral politics in 2014 when he joined the Indian National Congress and contested the Lok Sabha election from Bengaluru South.

He lost the election to BJP leader Ananth Kumar. Nilekani has since remained focused mainly on technology, public policy, philanthropy and other social initiatives.

Why has PM Modi chosen Nilekani?

Nilekani's appointment comes at a time when India's examination system is facing intense scrutiny over paper leaks and alleged irregularities.

His supporters point to his experience in building technology systems that operate at a very large scale. Aadhaar, in particular, required the creation of a digital system capable of handling the identities and data of a huge population.

That experience could be useful as the government looks at ways to strengthen examination security and make the process more transparent.

The task force's work will be closely watched as students, parents and education experts seek stronger safeguards against paper leaks and other examination malpractice.

What is Nandan Nilekani's Net Worth?

Nilekani's wealth has largely come from his stake in Infosys and his long career in the technology sector.

Forbes' 2025 India billionaires list estimated his net worth at $3.2 billion, placing him at No. 100 among India's richest people that year. However, wealth estimates can change with share prices and other market movements. Forbes' real-time profile listed his net worth at $2.4 billion as of July 24, 2026, showing why such figures should be treated as estimates rather than fixed amounts.

Nilekani's latest assignment marks another move from the world of technology and digital systems into a major national challenge.

This time, his focus will be India's examination system. The task force is expected to look at how technology can help prevent leaks, improve security and build greater trust in public examinations.

For Nilekani, the new role brings together two areas that have defined much of his career: technology and public service. The coming months will show how his experience in building large digital systems can be applied to one of India's most closely watched challenges in education.