Reimagining Bengaluru: Siddaramaiah taps Nandan Nilekani to bring zing back

Bengaluru: IT whiz turned political insider, Nandan Nilekani will wear a new hat in 2015. As the man who saw tomorrow his Aadhaar card scheme revolutionized the distribution of government funds and services to the underprivileged – Nilekani could be inducted into Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s core team in a bid to get the IT hub back on track.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who holds the Bengaluru development portfolio, has reportedly spoken to the man whom even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had high praise for.

The Chief Minister’s secretariat has told Deccan Chronicle that Mr. Nilekani has agreed to take on the new assignment in early January and will be given a Cabinet rank post.

He is expected to promote the use of e-governance and work towards improving the city’s creaking infrastructure.

Mr Siddaramaiah reportedly decided to act in the face of the growing criticism of the city’s civic administration and the brickbats from the IT and BT industries.

He is hoping Mr. Nilekani’s appointment will send a positive signal to all stakeholders in Bengaluru, especially the IT sector.

The Siddaramaiah government had reportedly decided to offer the new job to Mr. Nilekani six months ago, after he gave up his position in the Unique Identification Authority of India.

There was alarm in Congress circles after the sharp technocrat met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to persuade them to continue the Aadhaar and Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) schemes, amid reports he could accept a new assignment in the NDA government.

Not all Congress leaders are in favour of giving Mr. Nilekani a say in Bengaluru’s future. Some have made their opposition clear to KPCC president, Dr. G. Parameshwar, reveal sources.

Thankfully for Bengaluru, the Chief Minister has chosen to disregard the naysayers. Here’s to Reimagining Bengaluru, Mr Nilekani.