The Prime Minister is getting corporate leaders to leave their comfort zones and cross over to governance. Will his experiment succeed?
The Mission Member, Planning Commission. To help the government evolve better policies on
urbanisation and industrialisation.
The Difference He Makes As a consultant, he can locate systemic problems and provide solutions. He is already helping the Planning Commission overcome its inward-looking mindset and open up to feedback from the outer world.
Key Insight “The biggest thing that hits you here is the scale. Anything that you do affects millions
of people.”
THE INVITATION
Arun Maira was on a holiday with his wife. He was on a train in Prague when his phone began to buzz. In normal course, he would have been hard-pressed to recognize the caller’s soft, gentle voice amid the rattle and roll of the express train. It was the Indian Prime Minister on the line. Maira had been alerted about it just 15 minutes earlier. In fact, his idyllic vacation had suddenly turned topsy-turvy that morning with an urgent mail and a call from his college batch-mate and deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
Nandan Nilekani
The Mission To launch the world’s most ambitious national identity project.
The Difference He Makes Renowned networking specialist. Understands building consensus is the first step to bringing big change.
Key Insight “It is just that the processes here have more cholesterol in them than we are used to. I am not unduly worried about it. That’s a legitimate part of democratic process.”
Nandan Nilekani got his call from the PM towards the end of May 2009. Singh first offered him a Planning Commission job, but Nilekani said he was interested in a more independent role where he could make a larger impact. Leaving Infosys would be a big decision and he could do that only for a challenging assignment. The PM asked him to meet him in Delhi two weeks later.
Shailesh Gandhi
The Mission Central information commissioner.
The Difference He Makes As a Right-to-Information advocate, he has been able to make his team work 10 times as fast as any other across the country.
Key Insight “The frustration is that it’s the small things — not the big ones — that are holding up the government.”
Life as an information commissioner is far from easy. It was a newly created post. The government has given Gandhi a team of eight. But only one is full-time permanent staff and the rest are on contract on a meagre salary of Rs. 7,500 per month. “When you pay such pittance what do you get? Corruption is an obvious side-effect,” he says.
Capt. Raghu Raman
The Mission Head, National Intelligence Grid. To help evolve an efficient system for the flow of information among official agencies.
The Difference He Makes Has experience both in government and industry. Can make the two work together, using informal link-ups.
Key Insight “This will not be easy. But life isn’t about seeking easy jobs.”
(This story appears in the 19 February, 2010 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)