Nandan Nilekani, a veteran of the IT industry, has earlier, too, been part of government intiatives.
Nandan Nilekani, the non-executive Chairman of IT giant Infosys, has been named by the Centre to a nine-member panel to curb digital monopolies. The committee aims to, among other things, promote open networks and digitise value chains, and enhance value for consumers, a government order said today.
The Open Network For Digital Commerce (ONDC) is a project initiated by the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The task has been assigned to the Quality Council of India (QCI), the order said.
"ONDC aims at promoting open networks developed on open source methodology, using open specifications and open network protocols independent of any specific platform," it said.
"ONDC is expected to digitise the entire value chain, standardise operations, promote inclusion of suppliers, derive efficiencies in logistics, and enhance value for consumers."
Mr Nilekani, a veteran of the Indian IT industry, has been named as a member of the advisory council of the government that will recommend measures needed to design and accelerate adoption of ONDC.
Besides him, the council consists of RS Sharma, CEO of the National Health Authority, Adil Zainulbhai, the QCI chief, Anjali Bansal, the founder of Avaana Capital, Arvind Gupta, the co-founder of Digital India Foundation, Dilip Asbe, head of the National Payments Corporation of India, Suresh Sethi, MD and CEO of NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure, Praveen Khandelwal, chief of the Confederation of All India Traders, and Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO of the Retailers Association of India.
Mr Nilekani was earlier Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the statutory authority that issues Aadhaar. He also headed the Government of India's Technology Advisory Group for Unique Projects, that looks into the technology part of five large financial sector projects, including the Tax Information Network, the New Pension Scheme, and the Goods and Services Tax.