Govt should create public, digital infra, says Nilekani

Bengaluru: IT czar Nandan Nilekani today envisioned a future where the government builds infrastructure and private bodies leverage it to come up with innovative solutions for better use.

He was speaking at an event here after unveiling the electronic signing feature, 'eSignDesk', from online legal documentation platform LegalDesk.com, which makes signing of documents possible even in physical absence of parties.

Noting that Internet and GPS were built by the US government which are now being used by private companies to provide public services, he said technology has to be created at scale by governments because that needs massive investment and then many people can build applications on top of it.

"That's the classic way to drive innovation in any society," Nilekani added. Stating that India is already witnessing the shift, Nilekani made reference to Aadhar, CCA (Controller of Certifying Authorities) and NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India). He said once these are delivered, a company or a start-up can use the technology and offer services to millions of customers.

"That is the future where the government builds infrastructure and private organisations leverage (the same) to come out with innovative solutions for better use," he added.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines on the long-pending GST Bill being considered by the Rajya Sabha, Nilekani hoped that the government designs a "simple, transparent and efficient" tax system using technology after listening to all the stakeholders.

According to him, the law should be drafted keeping in mind "simplifying" ease of doing business. Stating that GST will make India a single market for goods and services, Nilekani stressed on importance of proper implementation of the GST Network.

Nilekani was earlier heading the special purpose vehicle -- GST Network -- responsible for implementing IT infrastructure for GST rollout.