New Delhi: Former UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani met with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and persuaded the new regime to persist with Aadhaar numbers and the Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) scheme.
The meeting of Nandan Nilekani with PM and FM had played a vital role to save the Aadhar programme.
Nilekani was appointed by Congress to head UIDAI in 2009 and was in Delhi in the last days of June to vacate the government bungalow allotted to him in Lutyens’ Delhi. It is during this period that he — and UIDAI — sought and obtained a meeting with the prime minister and the finance minister. Arun Jaitley had increased allocation for UIDAI from Rs 1,550 crore (revised estimate) to Rs 2,039 crore in the Union Budget.
There is enough evidence to suggest that the crucial July 1 meeting among Nilekani, PM and FM brought forth a volte face in the government stand on UIDAI.
Bureau Report
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