Must read..................
This is how Indian Parliament
works: READ ON.
From
an INFOSCION to a POLITICION - Nandan's Chronicles - 2
Continuing my tryst
with capturing the life and times of Nandan Nilekani in his
new avatar as a Cabinet Minister, here is what he had penned
after his first day in the Parliament. The last entry
stopped when the House was just about to begin. Let’s see
what happened thereafter….
The>
House was in pin drop silence. I was brimming with
anticipation and excitement!!!! Manmohan had informed me
that my introduction was one of the important points of the
agenda. I hoped that I will be able to make my speech
properly. After so many interviews and conferences, I was
nervous today!!!! After the Speaker indicated that the
proceedings of the House could begin, Manmohan formally
introduced me to the entire House. He mentioned that as the
head of the Unique Identification Authority of India, I was
responsible to ensure that each and every Indian had a
digital smart card as a proof of his existence.
Manmohan spoke
about why I was selected and also some references to the
various projects executed by me in Infosys were mentioned.
The House listened with rapt attention. I was asked to say a
few words and I did exactly the same!!! I thanked the
Government of India for having given me this opportunity and
I assured the House that I would strive to successfully
deliver this project. The Speaker then formally inducted me
into the House and before the proceedings could move any
forward, there was a small commotion on the other side of
the hall.
It
was Minister of Textiles who had a comment to make before
the next point on the agenda. He made a request that I
should be attired in a more austere way instead of a flashy
suit. It did not go well with the image of a minister who
should live to serve the common man and should be less
ostentatious in his habits. I stood up to reply. I offered
my apologies to the Honourable Minister and assured that I
shall be in a more acceptable dress next time. I felt that
he was right. We also used to have corporate dress code in
Infosys. So it's here as well!!!!
I
sat down and felt somebody nudging me. I turned around and
to my surprise; it was the former Indian skipper and one of
my favourite batsman Mohd. Azharuddin. I remembered that he
had recently won the elections. I smiled at him and
mentioned to him that I used to like his game very much,
shaking his hand. No Rolex, I noticed. Azhar told me that he
would “fix” me an appointment with an Italian designer
who had designed his dapper Kurta suit. An Italian designer
in Milan doing Kurtas!!!!! I made a note of this and
reminded myself to give this example to Friedman for his
next book,” The World Markets are flattened”.
Since there was no
doubt about the “Fixational” capacities of Azhar, I told
him to give me the details and I would consider. The
proceedings of the House went on with numerous bills being
debated and passed as I sat 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
to Manmohan and apprised him of the situation. I was
sweating. He calmly replied 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 for the Unique
Identity Project. I replied that I have a plan prepared for
30-60-90-120 days’ milestones and I have presentation to
make for which I need a power socket, a projector and a
screen. I had no idea what was going to happen after this.
The
next couple of minutes were a complete jolt for me. I was
completely in a tizzy. Let me just summarize what happened.
A Joint Cabinet Secretary Committee was set up to judge the
feasibility of my request. The Under Secretaries for the
Ministries of Power, IT and Broadcasting will prepare a
Viability Report after scrutinizing National Security
threats to my request. This was because the power socket
comes under Power, laptop comes under IT and projector comes
under Broadcasting. I have also been told to reconsider my
timelines of 30-60-90 days and start thinking in terms of
years. Probably, they are right. I did not have the
foresight in this matter.
The
summary of the issue is that I need to come up with a more
inclusive, democratic, comprehensive long term plan for this
project to be executed over the next five years. I have also
been given a presentation slot 3 months from now (by which
the issues related to the power cord etc will also be
resolved). I am filled with mixed reactions. I was planning
for a quick resolution; the management wants a 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!!!!!!!!”
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