Implementing government projects is not easy, principal secretary to PM, TKA Nair tells UIDAI chairman Nilekani

IN A lighter vein, principal secretary to Prime Minister T K A Nair gave a strong message to Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) chairman Nandan Nilekani that implementing a large project within the government set-up was not an easy task at all. Speaking at a function of the formal launch of urban development secretary M Ramachandran’s book, “An Alternative Approach to Project Planning in Public Works – The Indian Context” in New Delhi on Tuesday, Mr Nair said, “Now Nandan will realize what a project implementation in public sector means”, making everyone in the gathering including urban development minister S Jaipal Reddy break into laughter. For the beginners, Mr Nilekani who was the co-founder of Infosys Technologies, a start-up which has now become India’s second largest software exporter, joined government in one of the rare instances of a private sector honcho experiencing the corridors of power. Significantly, Mr Nair further suggested that Mr Nilekani should finally write a book for which he should keep everyday notes on the progress of his project that will give every Indian citizen a unique identity number. Read, “Will Nilekani make Ram Sewak Sharma a secretary at the rank of additional secretary?” posted on July 24, 2009. Also read, “Urban development secretary M Ramachandran presents the first copy of his book to PM” posted on July 8, 2009. Doc’s assessment of Indian Police force (Excerpts from Dr Manmohan Singh’s speech at All India Conference of DGPs and IGPs in New Delhi on Tuesday) Praise Many terrorist modules have been dismantled and arrests of several important terrorists have taken place. It is on account of your alertness that we have not had a serious terrorist attack since November last year. Caution But our success in preventing terrorist attacks can be sustained only at the price of unrelenting vigilance… We also need to understand better why many more local youth are being induced into participating in terrorist activities and how they are being recruited, indoctrinated and trained. The factors that cause social disharmony and alienation should be clearly known so that we can work to eliminate them. I urge you to pay particular attention to these aspects. Left Extremism The Left Wing Extremism is, perhaps, the gravest internal security threat our country faces. We have discussed this in the last five years and I would like to say frankly that we have not achieved as much success as we would have liked in containing this menace. New-age Policeman We need a new-age policeman who is more professional, better-motivated, suitably empowered, well-trained, one who places greater emphasis on technology for investigation and other tasks. Read, “Doc’s prescription to diplomats: Link diplomacy to India’s domestic economy, says Manmohan Singh” posted on August 26, 2009