Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani turned a simple government directive into the world’s largest biometric identification system, serving over 1.3 billion people. In a recent interview with LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky, he shared the story behind Aadhaar‘s creation.
“All I had was one page saying, ‘Give every Indian a unique ID.’ It didn’t say how… Just, ‘Do it,'” Nilekani recalled of the initial Aadhaar project during the interview. With no detailed instructions, he transformed an abstract directive into a groundbreaking digital infrastructure that now powers nearly 80 million daily interactions.
Nilekani brought his entrepreneurial spirit to the government project, uniting disparate teams of Silicon Valley technologists and government bureaucrats. “Making other people effective and motivated is a huge part of success,” Nilekani emphasized, highlighting his approach to leadership that transcends traditional organizational boundaries.
Within a month of joining the project, Nilekani announced an audacious goal of achieving 600 million unique IDs before stepping down. Many considered the target implausible, but his bold vision galvanized the team and drove unprecedented technological innovation.
Nilekani’s success stems from a philosophy of curiosity and human-centered problem-solving. “I get up every morning wanting to learn new things,” he shared with Roslansky. “The future is about what only humans can do: empathy, compassion, and connecting the dots.”
Beyond Aadhaar, Nilekani continues to tackle massive societal challenges through his latest venture, EkStep, which aims to improve literacy for 200 million children. His journey demonstrates that transformative impact emerges not from having all the answers, but from asking the right questions and empowering teams to pursue ambitious goals.