Nandan’s brief of his first day in parliament!

Continuing my tryst with capturing the life and times of NandanNilekani in his new avatar as a Cabinet Minister, here is what he hadpenned after his first day in the Parliament. The last entry stoppedwhen the House was just about to begin. Let’s see what happenedthereafter….

The House was in pin drop silence. I was brimming with anticipationand excitement!!!! Manmohan had informed me that my introduction wasone of the important points of the agenda. I hoped that I will be ableto make my speech properly. After so many interviews and conferences, Iwas nervous today!!!! After the Speaker indicated that the proceedingsof the House could begin, Manmohan formally introduced me to the entireHouse. He mentioned that as the head of the Unique IdentificationAuthority of India, I was responsible to ensure that each and everyIndian had a digital smart card as a proof of his existence.

Manmohan spoke about why I was selected and also some references tothe various projects executed by me in Infosys were mentioned. TheHouse listened with rapt attention. I was asked to say a few words andI did exactly the same!!! I thanked the Government of India for havinggiven me this opportunity and I assured the House that I would striveto successfully deliver this project. The Speaker then formallyinducted me into the House and before the proceedings could move anyforward, there was a small commotion on the other side of the hall.

It was Minister of Textiles who had a comment to make before thenext point on the agenda. He made a request that I should be attired ina more austere way instead of a flashy suit. It did not go well withthe image of a minister who should live to serve the common man andshould be less ostentatious in his habits.. I stood up to reply. Ioffered my apologies to the Honourable Minister and assured that Ishall be in a more acceptable dress next time. I felt that he wasright. We also used to have corporate dress code in Infosys. So it’shere as well!!!!

I sat down and felt somebody nudging me. I turned around and to mysurprise; it was the former Indian skipper and one of my favouritebatsman Mohd. Azharuddin. I remembered that he had recently won theelections. I smiled at him and mentioned to him that I used to like hisgame very much, shaking his hand. No Rolex, I noticed. Azhar told methat he would “fix” me an appointment with an Italian designer who haddesigned his dapper Kurta suit. An Italian designer in Milan doingKurtas!!!!! I made a note of this and reminded myself to give thisexample to Friedman for his next book,” The World Markets areflattened”.

Since there was no doubt about the “Fixational” capacities of Azhar,I told him to give me the details and I would consider. The proceedingsof the House went on with numerous bills being debated and passed as Isat as a passive audience waiting for my project’s turn to come up.After the lunch break, it was the moment for me!!!!

MY PROJECT”S FIRST REVIEW CAME UP FOR PRESENTATION.

I was at sea. My laptop did not have any reserve power. I went toManmohan and apprised him of the situation. I was sweating. He calmlyreplied that this would not be a cause of concern. I was flummoxed!!!!The Speaker asked me to explain to the House on what were my plans forthe Unique Identity Project. I replied that I have a plan prepared for30-60-90-120 days’ milestones and I have presentation to make for whichI need a power socket, a projector and a screen. I had no idea what wasgoing to happen after this.

The next couple of minutes were a complete jolt for me. I wascompletely in a tizzy. Let me just summarize what happened. A JointCabinet Secretary Committee was set up to judge the feasibility of myrequest. The Under Secretaries for the Ministries of Power, IT andBroadcasting will prepare a Viability Report after scrutinizingNational Security threats to my request. This was because the powersocket comes under Power, laptop comes under IT and projector comesunder Broadcasting. I have also been told to reconsider my timelines of30-60-90 days and start thinking in terms of years. Probably, they areright. I did not have the foresight in this matter.

The summary of the issue is that I need to come up with a moreinclusive, democratic, comprehensive long term plan for this project tobe executed over the next five years. I have also been given a presentation slot 3 months from now (by which the issues related to thepower cord etc will also be resolved). I am filled with mixedreactions. I was planning for a quick resolution; the management wantsa strategic solution. I come out of the House and text Murthy.

“You won’t believe it but these guys work just like us. I am on a NATIONAL BENCH for the next three months!!!!!!!!”

[Nandan shouldn't be astonishedto know that till date all Hon'ble Members of our Parliament have beensitting on Bench. They are on project only when they have to "earn"something ]