Nandan Nilekani Quotations

When India got independence, entrepreneurs were seen as a bad lot, as people who would exploit.

My parents were concerned that I would not get good schooling, so they put me up in my uncle's house in Dharwad, and I spent about six years there. So at a very young age, I was away from my parents. I developed an amount of independence and learned to stand on my own feet.

We took Infosys public. That was a nonstop three-week global roadshow.

Slowly, ideas lead to ideology, lead to policies that lead to actions.

My transactions are above board: I do not have money deposited in other accounts and have transparently declared all assets. My real wealth is, however, my experience as cofounder of Infosys and as Aadhar Chairman, which gave away 60,000 crore identity cards to people of India as promised.

Privacy is a vast subject. Also, remember that privacy and convenience is always a trade-off. When you open a bank account and want to borrow some money, and you want to get a very cheap loan, you'll share all details of your assets because you want them to give you a low interest rate.

Indian higher education is completely regulated. It's very difficult to start a private university. It's very difficult for a foreign university to come to India. As a result of that, our higher education is simply not keeping pace with India's demands. That is leading to a lot of problems which we need to address.

It's because Gandhi believed in villages and because the British ruled from the cities; therefore, Nehru thought of New Delhi as an un-Indian city.

I am proud of the fact that my wealth is completely transparent.

I think politics is the biggest lever of change in India.

I think the ideology of the Congress is closest to mine. Congress is a party where I should be. I have joined politics to bring change in society. The Congress gave me a chance with the Aadhaar project. It's a party that will allow me to bring change.

Bangalore now wants a person who doesn't only play politics. Bangalore needs a problem solver, and I am a problem solver. I will be the bridge between Bangalore and the Centre.

Infosys was going to be a different type of company. It was going to be very ethically run, meritocratic, quality-conscious, transparent. People didn't confuse the personal with the corporate.

You don't choose a party because it's the flavour of the month. I feel I will be able to work under a political system. I feel if people like me don't enter politics to bring change, who will?

Bangalore needs a honest, passionate and hard-working MP, and I will be that MP.

Congress is my ideological home; I come from a Nehruvian family.

I am not in politics to make more money.

I don't decide my politics based on the flavour of the month.

I made my money in an honest way. And I have declared it all. By co-founding Infosys along with Mr. Murthy and others, I earned financially.

I'm in politics to make the lives of millions of Indians better.

My background is putting in large systems that change lives... The right kind of systems can bring honesty and efficiency.

The biggest thing the money Infosys brought me is the freedom to do what I want. And what I want is to give millions more the opportunities I had.

We're going to showcase the arrival of the global Indian entrepreneur.

There is no choice. Democracy will ensure that the restrictions to job creation are lowered. No one can stop this.

We can compete on more than just cost.

Going forward, we expect revenues to cross the two billion dollars mark at 2.14 billion dollars by March 2006.

Overall, it has been good and a steady quarter. We are on track, on our strategy.

The deal also signifies a trend towards strategic global sourcing, where customers are selecting multiple, best-of-breed vendors to help improve efficiencies in their IT service delivery,

We believe in having a strategic amount of cash. We are in the process of growing rapidly and we are investing hugely in new plant and infrastructure.

Expatriates are returning because India is hot. There is an increasing feeling that significant action in the technology industry is moving to India.

This year India has been very active in promoting its brand and image internationally and Hanover is one of the highlights. People need to see the new India.

We have developed systems for hiring, training and retaining employees like an elaborate science.

Ever since the India-Pakistan conflict, our customers have asked for enhanced security.

This deal is a tipping point for Indian IT, ... It shows Indian IT companies are on a level footing with larger global competitors.

All our ducks are lined up in a row now. India will achieve 8% growth this year as a democracy. Democracy allows free speech, which breeds creativity. Creativity creates a culture that's popular and inclusive.

A big part of Bangalore's problem is that growth has exceeded everybody's wildest expectations.

Talent acquisition, transformation and management are critical anchors for the growth of the industry.

It took us the whole of fiscal 2004 to reach a revenue of $1bn. We reached the same level in the first six months of this year.

It took us 23 years to reach the first billion dollars in revenues while we reached the next billion dollars in 23 months.

The volumes growth story is on track, with demand strong from the financial services, retail, aerospace and insurance sectors,

In all our messages, including our briefs to the Indian delegates, we sent a clear message that this is not India versus China.

In the last couple of years, companies have taken security issues very seriously. We will redouble our efforts now.

I scribbled four words down in my notebook: 'The world is flat.