[Reader-list] Nilekani to Head UIDAI, Gets Cabinet Rank- 135

[Rajendra Bhat Uppinangadi]

Dear all, and Taha in particular,

 the issue raised by you is very relevant, can a ragtag combination of
political parties with claim to major alliance do as they please in
appointing any person, qualified or otherwise, to cabinet minister rank
without approval of citizens of the nation.? Is this not a policy making
body for legislation and not executive body of governance, are the two
issues that have clouded my intellect. Hope the list and its members will
enlighten by value added discusssion.

Regards,

rajen.

On Fri, Jul 3, 2009 at 2:26 PM, Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com>wrote:

> Congress is acting as if they own the country. Could anyone please ask
> them under what procedure of public scrutiny was Nilekani allowed to
> acquire a Cabinet birth. Or is it is the prerogative of ruling
> dispensation to appoint anyone as they please. Could then a BJP
> majority govt appoint someone like Mohan Bhagwat at some post on
> internal security with a cabinet berth?
>
> I have tremendous amount of respect for what Nilekani has done for the
> country as far as of the business of IT is concerned but could this be
> made into a premise for him to be given a public post, involving
> public money???
>
> Why is the BJP the so-called 'party 'with a difference' sounding more
> like a shadow government with shadow ministers  and  praising the
> policies of government in power?
>
>
>
>
> http://www.indiajournal.com/pages/event.php?id=7555
>
> Nilekani to Head UIDAI, Gets Cabinet Rank
>      Date Submitted: Thu Jul 02, 2009
>
> NEW DELHI - Infosys Technologies’ Co-Chairman Nandan Nilekani was June
> 25 appointed Chairman of an Authority with Cabinet Minister’s rank to
> steer the ambitious scheme for creating a multi-purpose unique
> identification database of citizens.
>
> 54-year-old Nilekani, co-founder of the leading IT firm along with N R
> Narayana Murthy 28 years ago, will head the Unique Identification
> Database Authority of India (UIDAI) under the aegis of the Planning
> Commission.
>
> He will have the rank and status of the Cabinet Minister, Information
> and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters after a Cabinet
> meeting.
>
> The scheme is aimed at providing a unique identity to the targeted
> population of the flagship schemes to ensure that the benefits reach
> them, she said.
>
> A visionary and a thinker, Nilekani, who gets an annual compensation
> of over $175,000 and whose net worth is $1.3 billion,  resigned his
> membership of Infosys Board of Directors following his appointment.
>
> His colleagues in Infosys top management Mohandas Pai and Kris
> Gopalakrishnan said his exit from Infosys would be a loss to the
> organization but a gain to the country.
>
> Announcing his appointment, the PMO said  Prime Minister Manmohan
> Singh has invited  Nilekani to chair an authority that will create a
> unique identification database of the country’s citizens.
>
> Nilekani, born in Sirsi in Uttara Kannada in Karnataka, did his early
> education in Bangalore and Dharwad before moving to Mumbai to study
> Electrical Engineering in IIT, Bombay.
>
> The PMO said the functioning of the authority and activities to be
> performed by the UIA would serve multiple objectives.
>
> The authority shall have the responsibility to lay down plans and
> policies to implement the unique identification scheme in the country.
>
> It shall own and operate the unique identification number database and
> be responsible for its updation and maintenance on an ongoing basis.
>
> Sonia Gandhi said the Authority shall have responsibility to lay down
> plans and policies to implement the Unique Identification Scheme
> (UID), shall own and operate the Unique Identification number database
> and be responsible for its updation and maintenance on an ongoing
> basis,” Sonia said.
>
> The Authority will identify the targeted groups for various flagship
> programs, she added.
>
> The flagship schemes of the UPA include the National Rural Employment
> Guarantee Scheme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, National Rural Health
> Mission and Bharat Nirman.
>
> The unique identification number would ensure that any lacuna in these
> schemes is removed so that the benefits do not reach those they are
> not meant for.
>
> The Government had earmarked Rs 1,000 Million in the interim Budget
> presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in Parliament on
> February 16 to kickstart its ambitious Unique Identification Project.
>
> The government has been working on improving arrangements to ensure
> that development deliverables reach the intended beneficiaries,
> Mukherjee had said.
>
> In order to do so efficiently, effectively and economically, a
> comprehensive system of unique identity had been worked out, he had
> added.
>
> The Government also plans to set up state units of UIDAI, headed by
> state UID Commissioners.                                  (PTI)
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-- 
Rajen.